Smoke and Shattered Mirrors
by Ealinesse
Summary: Two months after the events of Word of Mouth, Yuffie and Reno are again thrown together by fate. But this time they must not only rely on each other to keep themselves alive, but sane... Complete
1. A Prelude To Madness

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Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,

By Ealinesse

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. Woohoo. ^_^

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Summary: Two months after the events of Word of Mouth, Yuffie and Reno are again thrown together by fate. But this time they must not only rely on each other to keep themselves alive, but sane... 

(A continuation of Word Of Mouth, can be read as a stand-alone.)

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Warnings: Language, (Kiwi Spelling).

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Category: Action/Adventure.

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Prologue: A Prelude To Madness... 

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Reno rubbed a weary hand over his eyes in frustration. "We've already been over this, Reeve. He's going to recognise me. He may look dumb as hell, but he's not stupid. It's only been five years since we last met. I haven't changed _that_ much, and-"

"Reno, for the last time he's not going to recognise you. And if you'd just let me explain to you why, then you'd see. Understand?"

"Fine."

"Good." Reeve opened his desk drawer and slid out a plastic bag, placing it very carefully on the table in front of Reno. As the Turk began to open the packaging a little more than reluctantly, he continued. "He orders it every night at eight. One large family pizza from Peter's. Usually, the pizza takes about half an hour to arrive, so that's roughly an eight-thirty arrival. You can see why he isn't going to recognise you now?"

Reno shook his head emphatically, his eyes widening for only a second before they narrowed in disgust at the object of clothing he'd unwrapped. With a solid glare at Reeve he balled up the item and threw it out the office's open window, and began to leave. "No way, Reeve. No fucking way."

"Oh, Reno," Elena cooed in the seat next to him. "Don't tell me you have a problem with knocking on that big bad wolf's door after all this time?"

Reno shot Elena a patent glare, his eyes cold. "You know I don't. In fact, I'm rather looking forward to seeing his brains blown all over the wall. Don't think for a second that I don't want to get that bastard back for what he did to me. But let's see you try and work in that pathetic getup."

"Fine."

"Oh, come on, 'Laney. You _know_ that's disgusting. I'm not some puberty boy that needs to deliver pizza's just to pay for his college degree!"

"No," Reeve cut in. "You're a Turk. May I remind you that you've done much worse in your life than wear this uniform, and you know it."

Reno smirked as he looked out the window of the fourth storey office. "Well, I guess I can't wear it now."

"Actually, you can."

Reno turned to look at Rude, whose mouth was twisted into the smallest of smiles. He cocked his head as his partner procured a plastic bag from behind his back, then tipped a similar set of clothing out onto his lap.

"How the hell…"

"See, Reno?" Elena said smugly. "We knew you'd do something like that. That's why Rude suggested we get another one, just in case."

"Why _thanks_, Rude," Reno muttered under his breath. He turned to Reeve with a scowl. "You've got more of those bloody things stored away somewhere, don't you?"

"You can count on it, Reno. I don't suppose I need to explain to you why it is so important we take this guy out tonight, now do you? Two months of research go down the drain if this doesn't work. Not to mention if he creates an alliance with the remaining underground factions, then we're going to be in a lot of trouble. If we so much as-"

"I know, I know." Reno waved his hands tiredly in the air. "I do get the idea, Reeve. But you're sure no one else delivers to him? No one else meets with him?"

"… No."

Reno sighed as he picked disgustedly at the item Rude had given him. "I'm going to live to regret this, aren't I?"

A slow smile spread across Reeve's face. "You'll do it then?"

Reno shrugged. "Just one more thing. Where do I hide my weapon?"

As Reeve pulled out yet another object from his desk drawer, Reno groaned and slapped a hand to his face. 

"I knew it. I just knew I was going to hate this!"

* * * * *

"Aww, but you look so _cute_, Reno."

"Can it, Elena," Reno muttered as he proceeded to fit his earpiece. "I don't want to hear it."

"I know you don't, but did I mention that you look so _cute_! So… now what's the word… _pubescent_."

Reno counted to ten inside his head and took a deep breath. He tried to remind himself that if he killed her, he'd have no backup tonight, and that couldn't bode well for him in the long run. But goddamn it, couldn't she keep her mouth shut for just a second?

"Reno?"

At Rude's voice he looked up at his partner, then down at his hand as he held out a small black object. He unclenched his fists and took the item. "My locator?"

"Your locator."

Reno blew his breath out through pursed lips as he surveyed his new uniform. He bit back a wince as he failed to find a spot worthy enough to hide it without it being too obvious. "Just great. Where the hell am I supposed to put it?"

"I've already thought of that. Here."

Reno looked at the bum-bag that Reeve had procured warily. "In there?"

"Yes."

"Don't suppose I get any money to keep in it? You know, just in case."

Reeve frowned, and Elena stepped forward. "Already thought of that too. Check in the bag. Perhaps it would be easier for you to pull your weapon on him after you've given him some change. It would look better, and then he wouldn't ask any questions when you don't hand him the pizza box straight away."

Reno bit his lip as he strapped on the bum-bag warily, jingling it slightly to feel the slight weight of loose change. "How much?"

"Thirty dollars petty cash. It should suffice."

"And if he hands me more money than I can give him change for?"

"He hasn't so far."

Reluctantly he climbed into the black van, and Rude and Elena followed quickly, all equally geared up with communications devices, and secondary ammunition – just in case. Reeve stood at the back of the van, his hands behind his back as he fingered his own earpiece. 

"Be careful. Remember, I'll be listening in at the function I'm going to be at, so if anything goes wrong meet straight away at the rendezvous point across the strait in Costa Del Sol. You'll be picked up there."

"Quit your stressing, boss," Reno said, and Elena didn't like the look in his eyes. "Donovan is going to get it. No one turns traitor like that and gets away with it."

As the van pulled away from the curb, Reeve shook his head as his assistant tried to hurry him along. "That's what worries me."

* * * * *

"'Of _course_ you'll be able to find your way,' she says. 'It'll be _no_ problem. You just let the taxi drop you off on fourth street, and then you keep on going to the right, and all of a sudden you'll be there.'" Yuffie scowled as she peered into one house, and then the next. She reshuffled her bag over her back and stopped, did a full circle turn, picked a direction, then resumed her rant. 

"'Not to mention that there's a store nearby, so you should be able to see it. There's a big pink neon light that says MacClaren's – you can't miss it.'" Yuffie stopped again, cursed, and kept walking. She looked up, left, right, and down. For as far as the eye could see were darkened, rotten houses; old, chilling buildings that didn't look like anyone had lived in them for a long time. "Well I obviously _have_ missed it, Tifa, and I _did_ turn to the bloody right," she muttered. "And by the looks of things I've missed it good."

In the darkness she stumbled on a hidden object. She pinwheeled her arms as she began to tumble forward, but caught herself just in time to save the item tucked under her arm. She let out a sigh as she readjusted the small present into a more secure position. "Is it my fault I'm hopeless with directions? Knowing them they won't even realise I'm gone, and this will be a complete waste of time. I may as well just sit down and stay here until someone comes along."

She didn't bother to mention whether indeed anyone would ever come along. This street looked a long time unused – not the kind of place Tifa would choose to hold her birthday party, at any rate.

Yuffie wandered along for a while, not really sure where she was going. It took her a while, but eventually she found a seat. As her legs began to ache with the unnecessary exercise, she sank more than sat down onto the bench, dumping her bag and the small parcel down beside her. She closed her eyes, ignoring the dank smell and the eerie darkness of the location. 

"Trust me to get lost inside an alley," she muttered. "Last time I let Tifa give me directions for Midgar." She held back the memories such a place brought up, and instead focussed on playing with the golden ribbon wrapped around the object. It wasn't until it was snatched rudely out of her hands that she noticed she wasn't alone.

Yuffie snapped her eyes open and allowed them only a little time to adjust to the darkness before leaping to her feet. It was another second before she managed to register the small boy in front of her, holding _her_ parcel in his hands.

"Hey!" she yelled as he began to sprint away.

"… Catch me if you can!" came the small voice as it receded into the darkness.

There was no decision to be made. Yuffie slung her bag over her shoulder, readjusted her shuriken, and began chasing the boy down the alley. That present had been expensive, and if she lost it there'd be no way she'd be able to get it remade in time for Tifa's party. She was going to kill the little brat.

She scowled. At least when she'd stolen off people they'd not known it at the time. This boy was just plain untalented.

* * * * *

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"Reno, calm down."

"I am calm," he hissed into the small microphone. "Whatever makes you think I'm _not_ calm?"

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"I can see you from my position. You're going to crush the pizza box if you squeeze it any harder. We've still got half an hour at least before we have to go in there. Stop worrying. It will go as planned."

Reno winced and relaxed his grip on his cardboard box which held his weapon inside. "Fine." He readjusted himself on the rooftop, and resisted the urge to punch the living shit out of anything he could get his hands on. Right now he was nervous. No, that wasn't it. He was never nervous.

__

… Apprehensive?

Yeah, that was it.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, merely lying there for a while before he grew bored of that. He was about to ask the time when he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, and the sound of heavy footfalls alerted him to activity down in the alleyway. He frowned and leaned closer. 

"Rude? You see that?"

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"Affirmative. But it's not coming from inside Donovan's hold. It's in the alley itself."

"Gotcha."

There was silence for a moment as the two tried to see just who it was. Eventually Reno gave up on normal vision, and instead opted for his night-vision goggles. He leaned in closer, only just making out the dirty figure of a small boy. He looked like he was off the streets, and he had a small item tucked under his arm as he darted from one shadow to the next. It was more than obvious he was hiding from someone.

"Shit," he mumbled. _Get out of here, boy,_ he thought. _Scat before you see too much._

"That's not all, Reno."

Reno felt the urge to wince as he heard Elena's voice over the other end of the line. "What is it?" he muttered.

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"Wait until you see who's chasing him. Incoming to your right. ETA approximately five seconds."

Reno felt himself leaning right over the edge of the rooftop as he waited for whoever it was to come into his range of vision. "Come on," he growled out through clenched teeth. "Hurry up." He glanced at his watch, nearly groaning in annoyance as he realised the time. Twenty minutes to go. 

When he looked up he realised he'd missed it. Well, at least he thought he had. There was no way the figure he'd just seen could be here _now_. It just wasn't possible. As the figure ducked around the corner before he could so much as deny or confirm his sighting, he called out to his partner over the radio, who was located on the rooftop just a way away from him.

"Rude?"

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"Yuffie," Rude confirmed.

"Oh, shit." He got to his feet straight away, fear and anger gripping his heart as he clambered over the edge of the roof. "What the hell is she doing?"

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"By the way she's yelling I think the boy has something of hers."

"She's yelling? She's going to bring Donovan down around us!"

Before he knew what he was doing he was climbing down the ladder to the building and slipping out of the adjacent alley. He ran swiftly, trying not to draw any undue attention to himself as he slipped past the only lit house in the block.

He found her at the end of an alley, facing away from him as she scavenged the shadows for sight of the small thief. He took a silent step forward, then another, finally getting himself in range enough to pull her back against him. He did so quickly and efficiently, clapping a hand over her mouth as she began to struggle.

"Stop it," he hissed against her ear. "It's just me."

Reno felt her freeze against him for a moment, before slumping in relief. He let go of her as she turned around to face him, her eyes still wide enough to show her shock.

"Reno?" She frowned as she surveyed his clothing, a small smirk finding its way onto her face even though it was still clear she was confused. "Delivery boy? I see you've finally found your place in life."

"Enough," he whispered tersely. "You've got to get out of here."

Yuffie's frown deepened as she looked him in the eye. Any trace of amusement fled her face as she realised he was serious, and no amusing comment she could come up with was going to change that. "What d'you mean? That little shit stole my stuff!"

"If you stay here a moment longer you're going to have more than stolen goods to worry about."

"… What are you doing here?"

"None of your business," Reno muttered. He leaned forward to grab her arm, but she danced just out of his reach, her hazel eyes narrowed. "Brat, I don't have time for you to be difficult!"

"Well if you'd explain to me what's going on, then-"

"I don't have time!" He pointed and continued in a hushed whisper. "See that building? There's a stakeout taking place here tonight, and if you're smart you'll get the hell out of here while you still can. We've been waiting for this chance for years, please don't stuff it up."

Yuffie lowered her eyes at the tone in his voice, and drew circles on the ground with her toe. "If you tell me where fourth street is."

"Goddamn it, Yuff!" He scowled, but then frowned when he saw she was serious. "Okay, okay. Follow the road to the end of this alley, turn right when you get to the end and keep going straight ahead, then go left at the big pink sign. You got me?"

"… All right, then." Yuffie seemed to sense his frustration, and instead of commenting further she began to walk away. "Nice to see you too."

Reno winced at the tone in her voice and ran the few steps to catch up with her. "Wait." He tugged at his lip, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "So… what'd you lose, exactly?"

"Just a present. Nothing important."

"Ah. For who?"

"Tifa. It's her birthday."

"Oh, so that's why Reeve wouldn't tell us where he was going tonight."

There was no answer.

Reno sighed as he reached the point where he was set to turn off, and ran a hand through his hair when Yuffie refused to comment. He watched as she hesitated for a second, then turned to face him.

"Good luck, Turk," she muttered, before turning to leave.

"Yuff?" he called back, wincing at how his voice rung out a little too loudly for his liking through the alley.

"Yeah?"

Reno grimaced at the expectant look in her eyes, not liking how his next words were going to sound. "Promise me you won't hang around here tonight. This place isn't safe."

To this Yuffie raised an eyebrow ever-so slightly, her expression curious but wary. "Don't worry, Reno. I'm not an invalid."

He scowled. "Promise me."

Yuffie winced at the look in his eyes and ducked her head. Why did he sound so worried? She sighed. "All right."

"Good."

Without further comment the two split ways, and Reno couldn't help but think he'd handled things a little badly - even for him. He scaled the ladder, knowing that it was for the best. There was no way it was safe for anyone to be around here tonight. Donovan was unpredictable and dangerous. It wouldn't do to let anyone slip within his grasp.

He was near the top of the ladder when he heard a small scuffling noise. He was about to accuse Yuffie of not keeping her word when a small figure darted out of the shadows and into the other. It was too small to be Yuffie.

Even so, he knew just who it was.

Reno checked his watch, and after assuring himself that he had enough time to deal with the small thief, he leapt off the ladder and slipped into the darkness of the alley with only the smallest of details to Rude.

* * * * *

It took him nearly five minutes to reach the boy without alerting him to his presence. That was five minutes too long, according to his nerves. Reno slipped up beside the boy as he looked about to slip through a small gap in a wall of one of the old buildings. In the darkness he looked like nothing more than a scrap of rags, and for a moment he felt a stab of pity. 

… That was before he caught sight of the small box-like object that was tucked under his arm. Reno frowned and closed up the remaining proximity between the two. As the boy began to swing under the small gap Reno grabbed the scruff of his shirt and pulled him back.

"You know, a little birdie once told me that stealing isn't very nice."

As the small boy began to struggle, Reno snatched the small box out of his grip and placed it on the floor of the alley. He pulled the boy in closer. He cocked his head as he lifted the boy up to eye level. "They also told me that stealing from ladies is even worse."

"Spare me your sob story, delivery boy!" the small boy said. "You're only one step up from me. What's the matter, can't make ends meet either?"

Reno scowled, making note to have words with Reeve when he got back about his so-called 'disguise'. "I think you'll find that I'm little bit more than that, boy. Ever heard of the Turks?"

Reno caught sight of the boy's fright for just a moment before he covered it up. "Ah, so you have."

"You're not a Turk."

"On the contrary," Reno said, pulling out his badge from his pocket. A dark grin found its way onto his face. "I am. See this? This proves it. Now get out of here before you regret even trying to continue this conversation."

He dropped the boy and placed his foot on top of the small box as the thief made a grab for it. "I don't think so."

A bitter scowl found its way onto the boy's face. "Me and my sister aren't going to eat for a week now, you know that, Turk? Think you're the best, don't you? All your money. All you do is pillage and murder, trade sides when it's of greater benefit to you. You're _lower_ than a thief. You know that, right?"

Reno blew his breath out slowly between his lips as a deep frown found its way onto his face. "All too well," he muttered. Before he could stop himself he was digging into the bum-bag and scavenging through the change Elena had given him. When he found one he deemed appropriate, he held it out to the boy. "Here's twenty gil. Spend it wisely."

The boy eyed the note warily, his hand poised just out of reach. "… No tricks?"

"No tricks," Reno said, and the boy took it. "Now get out of here before you get caught up in all of this."

The boy complied gratefully and left without a backward glance. Reno sighed as picked the small object up and began to climb the ladder, realising he had ten minutes until the mission was a go. 

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"Was that wise?" he heard Rude say over the line. _"That boy's just going to spend it straight away on nothing in particular. What if you needed that change for Donovan?"_

"I'd rather the boy be starved and alive than dead on the floor of an alley because we couldn't stop him from doing what he did best."

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"All right."

"Now was that me, Rude, or did those words hold pity? You know, I think you're growing a heart after all, Reno." came Elena's voice over the line. _"You aren't getting soft on us, are you?"_

"Funny, Elena," Reno muttered. "Really funny. Rude, how long?"

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"Ten minutes," called Rude.

"Then I suggest we get ready."

That was enough to silence the three of them, and without any more need for speech Reno began sorting all of the items he would need. He checked his gun twice, and heard the familiar clicks over the line that indicated Rude and Elena were doing the same. When he was done he sat back against a raised part of the old building's roof and waited for the time to pass, hoping like hell both the boy and Yuffie had had the sense to leave while they still could.

* * * * *

In their moment of distraction none of the three Turks saw the figure as it peered out from beneath the curtains of the house. Nor did they hear the back door to the house open, or see the small figure slip inside.

"Mister Donovan, sir?"

"What is it, boy?"

"Y-you said to alert you to anyone I saw around here, sir."

This seemed to get the man's attention. The boy watched as the man looked up from the table, an intense look in his bright blue eyes. 

"Well, what is it, boy? Spit it out. If there's someone there then I need to know! Is it the pizza boy?"

"Y-yes. I mean, no! No! He was dressed like one, b-but he said… that-"

Donovan was on his feet instantly. "What do you mean he was dressed like one."

"W-well, he said he was a Turk, sir."

"A Turk?" Donovan's eyed narrowed. "Did he tell you his name? What did he look like?"

"N-no name, sir. B-but h-he had red hair."

"… Anything else?"

"Two scars, sir."

"Where?"

"One on each cheek, under each eye."

The man grabbed the boy by the collar and pulled him in so close their noses almost touched. "Did he tell you why he was here?"

"N-no. He just told me to get out of h-here before I got caught up in what's going to happen."

"He didn't tell you what? You didn't see anyone else? Answer, boy, this is important!"

"No. No one else was there, sir. J-just a girl, who left a while ago."

Donovan dropped the boy and fished a few notes out of his pocket, before shoving him roughly out of the back door. He faced the group of men playing cards in the other room. "Men, grab your guns. It looks like we've got someone to kill tonight after all." 

With that the man turned to the window, his Mako eyes cold. A cold grin formed on his face as he fingered the gun at his side. "Well, Reno. It looks like we will be meeting again after all."

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Author's Notes: First chapter, new story, all-new madness! ~_^ Feel free to drop me a review to tell me what you think.


	2. Redundant Inequalities

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A Dish Best Served Cold,

By Ealinesse

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. Woohoo. ^_^

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Summary: A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane. 

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Warnings: Language, (Kiwi Spelling).

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Category: Action/Adventure.

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Chapter 1... 

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"Ready, Reno."

"Armed."

Reno blew his breath out in an effort to get his nerves to abate. He placed his gun in its holster at his back and repositioned his locator in his bum-bag so it wasn't easily visible. His nightstick lay in the pizza box, charged and ready. Even so, he checked it again before making his way down the ladder and into the alleyway. Just in case.

As he crept to the edge of the wall that led to the house he screwed up his face in an effort to rid it of any expression. "Rude, Elena?"

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"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Remember what to do if anything goes wrong. I don't fully trust this disguise, no matter what Reeve says. Get yourself to the safehouse in Junon. I mean it. If Donovan recognises me then don't do anything stupid. Haul ass and I'll meet you there, all right? If not, I'll see you in hell. Take as many out as you can while you're up there before having to come down."

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"Understood."

"Roger that."

"Here goes," he muttered under his breath as he made his way out of the alley. He waited for the almost whispered plea that he knew would follow.

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"Be careful, Reno. Please don't get yourself shot, that damned disguise doesn't allow for a flak jacket."

Reno allowed himself a rueful smile. "Tell me something I don't know."

He reached the door a lot faster than he would have liked, and couldn't help the brief pause of where his hand refused to make contact with the door bell. He forced his tried nerves to comply, however, and pushed the dreaded button. The wait seemed to take forever, and he was at least glad of the cap to hide his expression.

All-too soon the door opened and Reno felt himself looking into the heated, but amused gaze of his ex-partner. A chill ran down his spine and he took an unconscious step backward as Donovan brought up a gun.

"Hello, Reno. I must admit I thought you'd try something more original."

That was about the same time that all hell broke loose.

* * * * *

"What the hell's going on! How did he know!" Elena hissed through her headset as she watched Reno dart out of the road just in time to avoid a bullet in the head. 

__

"I've no idea. Be careful. If he knew about Reno perhaps he knows about us."

"Affirmative," Elena muttered, then growled in frustration as Donovan disappeared behind another beam. "Damn it! I can't get a clear shot of him!" She reset her gun, and kept her eyes trained on the two figures. 

"Rude, where are the six guards that he keeps with him all the time? "

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"Not sure."

"Shit. What do we do?"

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"Stick with the plan. Try and take him out, though by the way Donovan is steering away from us they already know we're here."

She hated how Rude managed to sound so calm. "How can that be?"

__

"I don't know, but be careful."

This time she heard the strain of tension in his voice. The sound of a single shot rung through the alley, followed by one more. Elena continued shooting, wincing as a bullet zipped past her just to her right. She ducked as low as she could without losing her target.

"You're right. He does know we're here. But how?"

"A little more than that, darling. We know what you're _doing _here."

Elena spun as fast as her position allowed her, and only just managed to roll in time to avoid being hit by a throwing knife. She leapt to her feet, gun in hand as she moved away from the edge of the roof. She surveyed the two men who had their own weapons trained on her, wincing as they began to circle like birds of prey.

"Found them," she muttered in to her earpiece. "But how the hell did they know?" she dodged another shot, and darted behind an old outcrop of concrete. She fired a shot of her own and heard a satisfying scream as one of the men sunk to the ground holding his leg. 

"… Rude?"

But silent static was her only answer, and her heart leapt at the implications. Silently she wished her two companions luck and dived into the fight, hoping against hope that they'd all make it out of this okay like they had so many times before.

* * * * *

Reno spun as he heard a sound behind him and quickly reactivated his nightstick just in time to hit a man behind him. He grabbed the figure as it slumped and spun back to allow the body to absorb the shots that had been meant for him. As soon as Donovan had been through a round he dropped the body and ducked around the corner of the alley, allowing himself just a second to reload his gun.

"Now that's not very nice, Reno," called a voice over the sound of gunshots. "Don't make me shoot my men just to get to you."

"You know it's not very nice to let your men sneak up on me like that," he called back as he let off a shot. "But then again, you've always sacrificed your assets for the good of your health. Why would you stop now?"

His only reply was a short laugh, and so he reached his arm around the corner and fired again. 

"You cheapen my motives, my friend."

"I never said your motives were cheap, Donovan. You sold Ashley and I out for a pretty hefty price, and managed to gain not only a whole new lifestyle, but also a whole heap of men. What could be better than knowing you're a turncoat?"

"Knowing you're dead."

"Apart from that." Reno bit back a groan as a bullet hit the wall by his head, showering powdered brick all over him as it chipped off. He moved further back and raised his gun as Donovan darted into the same alley. He let off a quick shot and ducked as Donovan did the same. He heard a satisfying gasp in reply.

"Now that wasn't very nice."

Reno faced Donovan more readily this time, smirking when he realised the blonde man had dropped his gun and was holding his arm tightly. Blood was seeping out from between his fingers, though his face was the very incarnation of calm. Reno shrugged, weapon still raised. "Nor was what you did to us."

"Ah, but surely you've forgiven me for _that_."

Reno's scowl darkened and his grip on his gun tightened. "What do you think?"

"I think five years is a long time. Perhaps people have changed."

"You sold him out for me, and me out for your own ass. Change isn't an option for you, Donovan."

There was a short laugh. "Touché."

Reno frowned at the comment but said nothing. He cocked his gun and willed his arms to stop shaking. Why the hell was he so nervous? No, not nervous. Anxious. Why was he delaying this? A simple bullet to the head and this mission was over, as was any affiliation to his past…

Donovan seemed to sense his hesitation for he smiled wryly, lifting his chin in the briefest acknowledgement. "Ah, poor, poor, Reno. You still can't do it after all this time, now can you? Not until I tell you where it is…"

Reno's eyes narrowed. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't."

"Simple, my friend. You may be a Turk, but then again so was I. It'll give you no satisfaction to kill me like this. Wouldn't you rather fight it out like we used to? Or are you afraid you'll lose to an injured man?"

"Losing to you isn't an option, Donovan."

"Then what are you afraid of? One on one, like we always did. No weapons."

"… Fine." Seemingly without thinking, Reno slowly lowered his gun, not sure why he was even bothering to comply, but knowing that Donovan was right. He placed his gun on the ground almost mechanically, without ever taking his eyes off the man in front of him.

"I knew you'd see it my way, Reno."

"I'm not doing it because of you."

Donovan smirked; a bitter reproach that held no sympathy whatsoever. "That's what I thought you'd say."

Then Donovan leapt forward, and Reno parried the shot and offered one of his own. Blow after blow was traded even as Reno heard the gut-wrenching sound of gunfire from above. As a sweeping kick flew out beneath him Reno stepped almost casually over the attack, offering a punch of his own, ignoring whatever else was going on around him. As he'd anticipated Donovan dodged the shot, and Reno continued with his tirade until his one-time sparring partner retaliated again. 

It seemed for a moment that it was no different than it had ever been between them, but he knew better.

This was growing far too similar. Rashly, Reno grew quickly tired of the routine they had followed years back, and fired two successive punches even as Donovan tried desperately to get out of the way. One of the blows connected with the man's injured shoulder and he watched as reflexively, Donovan grabbed the wound in pain. Reno took the opportunity to aim a kick at the man's side, a quick punch to the face; and then to the ribcage as he began to slip to the ground.

As Donovan curled around his ribs on the grimy pavement Reno allowed himself the luxury of stepping back and crossing his arms. That had been almost too easy. Almost as if…

"You always were easy to fool, Reno."

Reno's blood ran cold as the voice spoke up beneath him. It suddenly became clear what Donovan had been planned all along, and he silently berated himself for his carelessness.

No time…

__

'Never let anger get in your way,' echoed Tseng's voice through his mind.

Too late he saw the blood-covered hand reach for the weapon. Reno scowled as he backed up a step, his heel contacting with the forbidding confines of the alley's wall. There was nowhere to run. Too soon he felt the familiar white-hot pain tear through his side even as he stared unwaveringly at the gun Donovan held in his hands. A bitter grin spread across his face as he raised his eyes to the mirrored look in those of his ex-partner's. He refused to show his pain or even acknowledge his wound, but he knew then that nothing had changed. 

Reno cocked his head in understanding. "Always the one to stack the odds when you knew you were going to lose, weren't you, Donovan?"

"Wouldn't want to disappoint you, now would I?"

As Donovan began to bring the gun up for a second shot Reno dived to the left and rolled to recover the second gun on the alley floor. From a mere grip on the handle he could tell it was Donovan's weapon that he was holding. As he took aim with the gun he ignored the ancient plaster as it showered white, flaky powder over him when the bullet connected with the wall behind him. He allowed himself a satisfied smirk, and shoved any pain he felt from his mind. Even in the darkness he could see Donovan's injured arm shaking with fatigue.

"You're tiring."

"… So are you."

"Not yet."

"Ah, but you will."

They fell silent for a second, and Reno could only watch as Donovan began to fiddle with the gun coyly. He bit back a curse and frowned, glad the darkness hid his annoyance. "What?"

Donovan shrugged. "Just so you know. It's kind of a pointless little stand off, really. My gun is empty."

__

'… And mine has two more shots left.' 

"So what's it going to be?"

Reno armed the gun and pulled the trigger in the hopes of it all being a bluff; nothing. At the same moment he heard Donovan fire, and although he darted to the left to avoid the shot he knew had been coming, he felt the stinging pain of a heated bullet grazing his right shoulder.

He smirked and looked up, again ignoring any pain he felt. He could deal with that later. "One left, Donovan, and your aim's off."

"One more left than you though, Reno, and you're forgetting who always was the better shot."

"Even with an injured arm?"

"Even with an injured arm. This time you're not getting away."

Reno refused to close his eyes; refused to face away from the gun as Donovan pulled the trigger. Perhaps he almost deserved it, anyway. He'd failed Ashley again, and fallen right into Donovan's trap. For a moment even the shadows seemed bright, and even though he was so focussed on the smirk on Donovan's face he couldn't help but notice the way even the shadows seemed to writhe with the tension…

Or was there something there?

Reno barely managed to stop his eyes from widening as he heard the sound of the gun go off. The pain of the injury never came, nor did any bright lights, and suddenly, instead of facing Donovan he was facing Yuffie, who was wiping her hands disgustedly against her shorts. 

He blinked, then narrowed his eyes at Donovan's slumped figure to cover his shock. "What are you doing here!"

Yuffie shrugged and gathered her shuriken from where it had been drilled into the wall, as well as the gun that had been pinned there by the weapon. She poked at Donovan's figure with her toe. "Saving your ass, by the looks of things. Goddamn, why is it that Midgar always breeds the power-hungry dipshits?"

Reno resisted the urge to allow himself to smile in relief. Instead of looking her in the eye he crouched by his ex-partner and felt his pulse. "Damn it."

Without thinking, he placed one hand against the back of the unconscious man's head, then another at the base of his neck. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yuffie turn away with a brief wince, knowing undoubtedly what he was going to do. Feeling his muscles tense, his grip tightened, feeling strength willingly flow into his fingers.

__

Killing me like this won't give you any satisfaction, Reno…

Reno jumped as if struck. He didn't know why, but at the voice echoing inside his head, he paused perhaps for longer than was safe. His grip loosened, and any preparation he had previously had for this moment flew out of the proverbial window. And then it was too late. Voices began to ring throughout the night – voices that replaced the gunshots. Reno's breath caught in his throat at that, and he spared a moment to look up. The voices were growing steadily nearer. 

Torn between the knowledge that he was now holding not only Donovan's life in his hands, but Yuffie's as well, Reno found himself faced with a very potent decision.

Beneath him there was a sudden movement and Reno glanced down to see the unconscious man's hand twitch reflexively. So he was waking up. He looked around frantically as Yuffie handed him back his empty weapon, and Reeve's earlier words about the safehouse in Junon sprung to mind. The deciding factor was the muffled groan beneath them, and the way his wounds suddenly began to throb in remembrance.

With a scowl of dissatisfaction, Reno realised that the opportune moment had passed, and now it wasn't Donovan's life in danger, but Yuffie's - and his own. If he lived another day, then that was a day longer he could wait to meet up again with Donovan, a day longer he would have to wait. A sudden heated anger filled him, but was quickly gone as a startled yell made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle.

Reno grabbed Yuffie's arm and she began to follow reluctantly behind him, her eyes pinned on the figure behind him even as he knew what he had to do. "Come on!"

"Where are we going?"

"I'm getting us out of here, like I told you to do before." 

"But-"

"No arguing, Yuffie. I told you to get out of here and you didn't listen, now you're leaving with me."

Reno stopped dead as a thought occurred to him and he spun in his tracks as voices behind them began to manifest into whole words, then sentences. The sound of heavy footfalls in the distance told him whoever it was, was in no way worried about announcing their presence loudly. Donovan's thugs. Looking around behind him, he nearly jumped at the light touch on his shoulder.

"Reno."

"What?"

"There's a ladder over there."

Without further need for words Reno led them up the old fire escape and onto the rooftops. At least this way he could find out what had happened to Rude and Elena. He glanced around quickly, getting his bearings as he scrambled over the top of the ladder. When he found the rooftop that Rude had been situated on he squared his shoulders, eyeing the gap in between buildings. Easy enough.

He made the jump easily and without words, though his side throbbed fiercely. Instinctively he put a hand to the wound and cringed at the torn, bloody fabric he felt around the area. About to look down at it, he caught himself just in time to stop himself from doing so. _'Later,'_ he thought quickly. _'You can check it out later. Find them first…'_

As he straightened his knees from the impact he spun to face Yuffie, ready to ask if she could make the jump without puking her guts out. His eyes widened as he failed to find her figure in front of him. Reno took a hesitant step forward, crouching silently and peering over the edge of the building. No one but Donovan's men. Shit.

"Where… "

"Get you worried, did I, Turk?"

This time he did jump. He turned to face Yuffie, scowling at her mischievous grin. A sardonic comment flew to his lips, but it was quickly lost as he caught sight of the slumped, broken-bodied figures that littered the ground just beyond them. 

"Fuck… "

Reno took an involuntary step forward, his eyes searching the immediate area for anything remotely recognisable. Nothing. He kept walking, checking the slumped bodies with a grim efficiency that belied his hidden fear. When he finally finished searching he bit back a sigh of relief, hoping that Rude and Elena had somehow managed to get away.

"What is it?"

Reno turned at Yuffie's whispered voice. "Rude and Elena are gone."

"They were here?"

"_Were_, being the operative word."

Yuffie frowned. "Where do you think they are now?"

"At the safehouse, one can only hope."

"… Oh."

A sudden noise behind them broke the silence, and Reno cursed his lack of attentiveness. Hastily he crouched by one of the fallen figures and retrieved the body's forgotten weapon, all the while steering Yuffie in the other direction. She darted the way he'd pointed silently, leaping over the rooftop to the next with a flippant grin. He followed quickly, and soon they were relatively out of sight. 

On the second-to last rooftop, his previous guarding post, familiar objects assailed him. He looked around, sure he was near the rooftop he'd been on earlier when he spotted it. With no more than a flick of his wrist he showed Yuffie the ladder that would lead to their eventual freedom and crouched next to the small object. He contemplated it with a raised eyebrow for a moment before scowling and placing safely inside his bag.

At the sound of gunfire began behind him Reno bit back a curse and darted after Yuffie, his hand pressed tightly against his side. She owed him for that. She really did.

* * * * *

Donovan pulled himself to his feet, shrugging off the callused hands of the man trying to help him up. He resisted the urge to break into curses as he realised Reno had essentially got away…

Again.

He steeled his expression, rubbing at a spot at the base of his neck as he eyed the five men in front of him. "The two on the roof?"

"They got away, sir."

"And Reno. What of him?"

There was a hesitant pause. "He also got away, sir."

"How?"

"He and the other girl got away over the rooftops, sir."

This made Donovan frown. "Other girl? There were only three Turks before."

"This one wasn't a Turk."

"You're sure?"

"She didn't look the part, and when we were waking you up Jackson and Nev were following them. He didn't look too happy to see her. Looked like they were arguing about something, but they went off together in the end."

"They didn't separate?"

"No. It seems they know each other, sir."

Donovan narrowed his eyes. "But she wasn't immediately involved."

"Not that we can figure, sir."

There was a brief pause, in which a low rumbling echoed through the alley. Donovan saw the others stiffen, and frowned. "What is it?"

"Sounds like a truck, sir." The man tried valiantly to keep his expression neutral, but failed miserably.

"A truck?"

"O-our truck."

"Have you unpacked the Ven-tox yet?"

"I… "

Donovan took a menacing step forward and grabbed the man's collar. "Answer my question."

"N-no, sir. W-we were in the process of doing so when you c-called-"

"Enough! Jackson, establish a team and go after them. We can't afford to let Reno and his little friend know just what he's gotten himself into. I will have my PHS. Maxwell, go find that kid. I'm sure he can't have gone far, and he may very well have the information we need."

"And if we should find them, sir?"

Donovan leered, a bitter smirk creeping across his face as he fingered the long chain around his neck. "Kill them."

* * * * *

"Come on, come on… "

"Why isn't it working?" Yuffie hissed beside him, eyeing the entrance of the alleyway they had escaped moments before with wide eyes. "Why won't it start?"

"Because it's a piece of shit, is what it is!" Reno stepped back and aimed a punch at the dashboard. More wires fell free from the already torn external casing. "Goddamn it!"

He fell silent for a moment before trying the two wires again. Just when he thought he had it there was a tap on his shoulder, and because his nerves were already well past fried, he dropped one of the wires and it fell back into the tangled mess that he'd ripped free from the cover.

"… Reno?"

Reno blew his breath out through his lips slowly. No time to count to ten to calm down. "What?" he hissed, without looking up.

"They're coming."

"I _know_ that-"

"No, seriously, Reno. They're almost _here_." 

If it weren't for the tension in her voice Reno would have snapped something back. Near panic filled him, and he fumbled for the wires as a gunshot rang out behind them. He jumped again as this time a shot took out his side mirror. Beside him Yuffie crouched over and ducked, her hands flying over her head as another bullet took out both the back and front windows.

He wouldn't be caught by Donovan again…

Reno closed his shaking hands around the wires again as glass continues to shatter around them. He bit his lip in anticipation as the engine continued to rev hopelessly. In frustration he flattened his foot on the accelerator and kept his head down. 

"Why the hell isn't it going? We'd be better off-"

Reno scowled as a bullet flew past his ear. "Shut up, it's going to-"

"No it's not. It's just a piece of shit!" To emphasise her last word Yuffie slammed her fist down onto the dashboard and swore as her fist throbbed in pain. "Shit! Stupid piece of junk! I can't believe-"

"Wait!"

Relief filled Reno as Yuffie fell silent and the low purring of an engine rose to his ears. For a moment he felt himself able to think clearly and he put his foot on the clutch, relieved when the car's rev count didn't drop to zero. He ignored the pain in his side as he slammed the car into gear and began to drive off. He flagged the seatbelt; there'd be time later for that, anyway.

When they finally made it out of range of the bullets and out into the publicity of the streets of Midgar, a slow grin began to play along his lips. When they finally made their way onto the highway that headed out of town the grin crept into that of a laugh.

Beside him, Yuffie frowned. "What?"

"I don't think old faithful likes to be called a piece of shit."

Yuffie snorted rudely and fixed him with a blank stare when he said nothing more. "You've named the car."

"Of course I have."

"Let me rephrase that. You've give the car you stole not five _minutes_ ago a pet _name_."

"You bet."

They lapsed into a lengthy silence, during which Reno found himself painfully aware that he was injured. He tried hard to focus on the trees that rose up along the patchy old roads, but felt his vision become spotty as the rough old truck bounced over a particularly bad pothole. He sucked in a breath and pressed his firmly against his side. He felt the warm stickiness of blood seeping down his side and hoped like hell Yuffie hadn't noticed it in the darkness.

Yuffie's mind, it seemed, was more concerned about other things.

"We're going away from Midgar, aren't we?"

Reno's wince shifted into that of a smirk as he found himself glad of a voice to focus on. "You bet, brat, I'm getting as far away from there as I can."

"To where?"

"If I told you that I'd have to kill you."

Silence. Okay, so apparently the brat was feeling as intolerant as he was, also. 

"… A safehouse in Junon."

There was a pained sigh to his left. "You're kidding me."

"Unfortunately not."

"We're driving three hours to a safehouse in Junon."

"It's not safe to get anywhere near him. Not Midgar."

"But… How do you know him?"

Reno stayed blissfully silent. That was a question he would not answer.

"Come on, Reno. What harm does it do to tell me?"

"It doesn't concern you," he replied shortly.

"Oh yes it does. I could have been killed in that alley, but I saved your ass. Who is he, and why are you after him?"

"I didn't ask you tag along! Quit your whining, and keep-"

The car swerved suddenly, and Reno grabbed for the steering wheel, only to find that it had locked on him and wouldn't move. His face paled alarmingly as he ran a hand over his eyes, slamming his foot on the brakes instinctively as the truck swayed, angling onto its side and sliding swiftly toward a nearby embankment at the side of the road. 

Not bothering to fight the spots dancing around in front of his eyes, Reno could only think about when it would all end as the car suddenly began to roll, teetering briefly over the edge of the road before toppling forlornly down the grass verge. All too soon sight and sound began to fade, and Reno's last thought before everything passed into oblivion was that perhaps he should have put on his seatbelt after all.

****

tbc…

* * * * *

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Well, there's my second chapter up. My computer got reformatted, so I had to rewrite the whole thing, so I'm sorry I took so long. The third one should be up soon. Enjoy, and feel free to review! ~_^

Cheers!

~Ealinesse.


	3. If You Go Down To The Woods Today

****

A Dish Best Served Cold,

By Ealinesse

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. Woohoo. ^_^

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Summary: A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane. 

****

Warnings: Language, (Kiwi Spelling).

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Category: Action/Adventure.

* * *

* * *

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Chapter Two... 

* * *

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Everything was cold, so painfully cold. And uncomfortable. 

Was her bed made of rocks? Where were her blankets? Had she kicked them off the edge of the bed? Had she fallen asleep with them under her? Yuffie probed around with her feet for a while without opening her eyes, scavenging for her neglected furnishings until she stumbled upon two very interesting things. 

She wasn't in her own bed.

And she was _definitely_ upside down.

Yuffie groaned as she snapped her eyes open, not entirely surprised to find that she could see very little. She ignored the pounding in her head and the funny smell that seemed to assault her even as her eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Eventually, vague outlines of shapes began to appear and memory came back.

Reno. The fight. The car…

The crash.

Struggling against the firm hold her seatbelt had on her ribs, Yuffie soon realised that the only way she could get out quickly and with relative ease was by unclipping the belt. She winced, imagining the landing she might have if she miscalculated how far she had to fall.

"Oh, this is going to hurt," she muttered as she closed her eyes, although there was almost nothing to hide her sight from. Counting to three silently in her head, Yuffie braced herself and pressed the small release button.

The landing was much softer than she had anticipated. And warmer. And, well… damper. She almost missed the soft grunt that was let out as she placed her arms against what was now the floor to get up. The breathy exhalation was too low to be her own. Yuffie stiffened, her eyes widening as she realised just what she'd landed on. Scrambling around in the small space, she tried to find a spot that the Turk's body didn't occupy, then knelt beside him, her hands hovering worriedly over the surprisingly still figure.

"Reno?" she tried hesitantly. 

Her only answer was the dull hum of the still-running engine in the background.

"Reno?" Urgency laced her words as the scent within the car began to make itself known. Carbon dioxide. Smoke. Death.

Having had enough trouble with fires to last her a lifetime, it didn't take Yuffie long to realise what she had to do. Hoping she wasn't aggravating any injuries that Reno had – and hoping that he was still alive enough to be suffering them – she began to shake at his shoulder. She stopped when a satisfying groan rose up out of the silence. The lump that had formed in the back of her throat shrunk a little.

"Go 'way."

If it had been anyone else Yuffie would have laughed. Had it been any other time, she would have bantered back. But the fact that the car was at risk of catching fire did not appeal to her in the least.

And hadn't Reno said that they were being followed earlier?

She went back to shaking the semi-conscious Turk. "Come on, Reno. Wake up."

"No."

"Seriously! _Get. Up._"

There was a moment's silence.

"If I tell that you that I'm trying, would you believe me?"

"If I tell you that the car's about to catch fire and we're very close to becoming nothing more than a giant fireball in the sky, would you believe me?"

"… Only because you're bad luck."

Yuffie bit back a smirk as she watched Reno press his arms underneath him. Even in the darkness she could see the way his lanky frame shook, but without light she could only guess at what was wrong. Perhaps whatever it was, it wasn't that bad. He was moving, right? 

Satisfied for the moment that Reno was making progress – however minimal - Yuffie busied herself with trying to find an exit to the car. She tried the side she was on, but the door was jammed. The windows, which she had hoped to be broken, were still painfully intact. The other side was the same.

Reno, it seemed, noticed her dilemma, and lifting a trembling arm to point toward the front windscreen, which had shattered from the fall, littering sparkling gems on the roof of the car.

"That way?"

"You bet."

Reno watched as Yuffie pulled her jacket from over her head and wrapped it around her hands before proceeding to shuffle awkwardly out of the small space. He sucked in a breath and followed, trying to ignore the blackness that was pressing through the back of his mind. 

His progress was a lot slower. He had nothing to protect his hands, and the movements that were required to shimmy out of the small space were making his side jar. He bit back a hiss of pain as a particularly bad shard of glass bit into the palm of his hand. When he finally reached the outside he could just see Yuffie, standing with her hands on her hips, silhouetted eerily by the moonlight. Now that they were outside, things were a lot easier to see.

He stood slowly, relinquishing himself to the fact that he wasn't going to be getting better any time soon unless he found a Cure Materia. 

"Reno?" Yuffie's voice was quiet, even in the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Are you hurt?"

Reno grimaced, shaking his head as he picked disgustedly at the blood-soaked fabric of his topic. "Not too bad."

"Sure?"

"Positive."

Reno turned and proceeded to inspect what was left intact of the car. He looked up to the top of the embankment, realising how lucky they had been to survive such a fall. Next time, though, he was going to look more carefully for things that would puncture their tyres.

Absently, he felt around the area of his injury, frowning when he realised that the bum-bag Rude had given him earlier was missing. He looked to the car, realising that it must have somehow come undone during the crash. He peered closer, wincing when he realised the only way in was under the car's upturned bonnet, and back through the way they came.

Decisively, Reno walked up to the side of the car and tried the door, cursing when it wouldn't open. He aimed a kick at what would normally have been the base of the door, but felt it instead impact – and then go straight through – what could only have been the passenger window.

Ignoring the mindlessness of his own actions, and the steady stream of smoke that was beginning to pour from under the bonnet of the car, Reno crouched carefully and reached inside, scavenging through the mess in an effort to find his bag.

"What's the matter?" came Yuffie's voice from beside him.

"My bag's still in the car," he ground out. Finally his hand closed around something, and he allowed himself a satisfied smile.

He got quickly to his feet, about to comment to Yuffie when a distant light on the road began to come closer. His eyes widened, and he turned to face Yuffie. It seemed she had noticed it as well.

"Is it them?"

They watched silently for another few minutes before realising that the vehicle above them was indeed slowing. He glanced at Yuffie out of the corner of his eye, and as the car slowed and pulled over he could clearly see the quizzical look in her eye.

"Run?" was all she said, pointing inelegantly to the thick cover of bush that ran all the way along the road.

"Run," he confirmed.

They turned and fled without a word, trying to cover their tracks with silence as the bushes whipped and cracked cruelly at them as they sprinted headlong for cover.

* * * * *

Yuffie pushed a branch out of her road as they trudged through the dense thicket of underbrush, letting it go abruptly as soon as it was out of her way. This hapless task was followed quickly by another, and another as she grew more and more frustrated. 

"What if they were emergency services?" she said abruptly. "What if they saw the crash and came after us?"

Reno caught yet another branch just in time to stop it from taking off his head as it flicked rebelliously back to the position it had grown in. He scowled. "We were on a back road, Yuffie. Only service trucks use it during the daytime. Do you really think that, _conveniently_, there's going be any way in hell someone would see it?"

"One could only hope," Yuffie grumbled.

They fell silent again for a time, and both were left alone with their thoughts. Yuffie flicked another branch out of her way with a negligent swipe of her arm, even as another one spitefully reached out and grazed her ear. She muffled a curse but refuted her right to complain moments later. Silence was golden.

Or, at least to her it was.

There was a stifled gasp from behind her and Yuffie stopped abruptly just as something bumped into her back.

"Keep walking!"

"Watch where you're going!"

Both shut their mouths, and consequently, the first one to speak was the first one to recover.

"Well I _would_ watch where I was going if I didn't have to worry so much about being attacked by branches – especially ones that are being pulled back and _flicked_ at me on purpose!" Reno hissed through clenched teeth.

Yuffie winced, turning around on the spot. The sparse moonlight that filtered through the trees only allowed her a faint glimpse of Reno's silhouette, but even then she could see the way he gingerly held his side. Had the branch caught him that badly? A bumbled apology found its way onto her lips and she turned to leave… Only to have something whip painfully at the back of her legs.

She spun around on her heel, ignoring the loud crunching sound as dried leaves crackled under her foot.

"Did you _really _have to do that?"

A brief flash of white teeth in the darkness was her only reply.

Their banter was interrupted by a sudden flash of light, and they both froze.

"Lightning?" Yuffie whispered hopefully.

"On a warm, clear night?"

"…"

"In the Junon district?"

Yuffie sighed, realising that even though the torches were still a good distance away, that they were inevitably being chased. Through trees. Evil, whipping trees.

This was definitely not how she'd planned to spend her night.

"Run?" she asked wearily.

There was a moment's pause. 

"Run," Reno replied after a minute, though they weren't able to do so for more than a metre at a time thanks to the dense underbrush.

* * * * *

It was becoming imminently clear that whoever was out in the darkness was catching up on them. And it wasn't just because they were travelling slow. Right now – trying to hide or not – Reno would have given anything for a torch. If only to be given that infinitesimal split-seconds' extra notice that it would give him - especially when it came to those branches that just kept leaping out of nowhere.

"I swear, when I get to Junon I'm going to make sure Reeve burns down every goddamned forest on the planet," Reno mumbled under his breath.

"_If_ we get to Junon. _If_."

Reno scowled. "My, aren't we positive this fine evening."

"It's all part and parcel, really."

Reno didn't bother to answer. He knew she'd elaborate - the words 'shut up' weren't really in her vocabulary. Not that he minded right now. Her words washed over him in a syrupy wave, and sounded like they were coming at him through a wall of molasses even though she was just in front of him. Perhaps it was because he was having a hard time staying conscious. Perhaps not.

"Makes perfect sense that everything would go wrong when I meet back up with you. You are a Turk after all."

Reno muffled a derisive snort. "Well we can't all be Wutaian royalty, now can we? Not everyone is that… _lucky_."

Yuffie ignored the glib remark. "Jealous, Turk?"

"Never," Reno replied smoothly. "Being at the bottom of the food chain has its advantages."

"Oh?"

"Oh."

Yuffie smirked as she let go of a branch. "So you don't regret killing all the people you've killed just so long as you can have alcohol to rot your liver?"

Yuffie distinctly heard the footsteps cease behind her. Unconsciously she sucked in her breath. That remark had been uncalled for. Perhaps she had saved his ass tonight, but that by no means scratched the surface of what he had done from her three months before. And perhaps her night had been ruined by their chance meeting, but he certainly wasn't enjoying it either, she was sure.

She stood waiting, knowing that if she wanted to she could have cut the tension in the air with her shuriken. When his voice finally came out of the darkness, Yuffie paled. The frightfully sober reply had been nothing like what she had thought he would finally say.

"Ever wonder why?"

"S-sorry?"

"I _said,_ ever wonder _why_ I drink." The words were followed by the abrupt continuation of footsteps, and the sound of a sigh teetering on the edge of her lips as Reno pushed past her.

She stood motionless for a second, frozen by the words that had just been spoken. Was it true that one Reno the Turk had just kicked up a stink…

And won?

Yuffie followed behind him, feeling strangely like she deserved the branches that whipped venomously out at her. 

__

'… What the hell just happened?'

* * * * *

__

Now that was smooth…

Reno growled angrily as he swiped out at a branch.

Where the hell did that come from?

And another.

__

Don't tell me you're angry. She was just being smart.

Since when was he even capable of _getting _angry?

__

… No more so than you were being, I might add.

What the hell was this…

Feel good… ?

He winced as he heard a small gasp from behind him, and unconsciously ducked the next branch instead of swiping it away.

Perhaps he could just chalk it all down to a bad day…

… and the fact that he was pissed that his side had started bleeding again.

__

'Why don't I just curse myself for being human?'

All the while the voice continued its droll, beleaguering tirade.

__

Human? My, what a strange misperception…!

__

'Watch it, Donovan…' he countered. _'Your time will come.'_

* * * * *

How late was it, Yuffie wondered, for she truly had no idea. Their ceaseless, dogged pace was nothing more than a mirror image of their temperament. She no longer had any idea if they were even going in the right direction. She now more than realised that if she was going to figure out any of that they were going to have to get out of here – and away from the men that were closing in on them. Fast.

Yuffie spared a moment to curse the heavy oppressiveness of the dense woods. She had grown up in Wutai, and sure, there there were forests aplenty. But never had she spent so long in the one place. At least at home she had known where she was going. And that the forests at home did, in fact, actually _have_ an end.

She felt like she should be leaving a trail of breadcrumbs…

She cast a hopeless glance around her, hoping futily that some sign would show itself – that somehow the end of the forest would suddenly reveal itself and all would be well. It was then that she noticed a second light closing in beside them.

Yuffie stopped dead in her tracks. "Look left," she muttered tersely as the Turk turned to face her questioningly.

"… Fuck."

"I don't really need to say it this time, do I?"

Despite himself, Reno snorted. "No, you really, really don't. Just do it."

They ran as light-footed as their heavy boots would allow them, and dodged every branch they could. Silently, Yuffie cursed the way Murphy's law worked against them, and how the wood only got thicker. And harder. And less giving.

And then it hit her, literally. 

Yuffie reeled backward momentarily as a branch struck her in the face. She was going to curse Reno for flicking the branch in her direction, but all too soon she didn't even notice the pain in her head. All she saw as she looked up – and up – was the vague silhouette of the rather ominous pine with plentiful branches… and cover.

Of course!

"Reno," she whispered, pointing. "I've got it!"

Doubt was barely concealed in what she could see of Reno's eyes. "A pine tree."

"Yes."

"We're going to hide. In the forest. In a pine tree. _Where_ they're _looking._"

"Why not?" Yuffie added defensively. "There's no way they'll see all the way to the top."

Reno seemed to weigh this option for a moment. "Fine," he finally agreed, and Yuffie thought he must have been pretty anxious himself to agree with it.

Yuffie's jaw nearly unhinged itself. "Fine? That's it?"

"Don't push it, Yuff, it's been a bad day. What difference is it going to make if I fall out of a tree?"

Yuffie smirked and began to pull herself up, only to realise that the branches she so desperately wanted to reach were too high for her. She let out a breath, realising that perhaps this was going to be a little more difficult than it looked. After a few more tries, she scowled. One foot, that was all she needed. One more lousy foot. How the hell was she supposed to grow that much taller in a few minutes?

"Need a little help?" came a smug voice from above her.

Yuffie looked up, her eyes widening as a familiar figure stretched a long arm down to dangle just above her head. 

"How the hell…"

"Ah, so she does." 

Numbly, Yuffie outstretched her arm to meet that of Reno's, who had already clambered up to the low-lying branches at the base of the tree. It was a matter of seconds before she was also up, and she hurriedly leapt upward into the further reaches of the pine.

Damn it, Reno was _not_ supposed to beat her at her own game…

* * * * *

Reno winced at the pull of Yuffie's weight on his arm. She was a lot heavier than he'd expected her to be, although somehow he managed it. As she wriggled up past him on the branches he began to sat up, but felt a sudden, piercing pain in his side more fierce than it had been before. Almost unconsciously he sucked in his breath and pushed himself up with more caution, leaning himself against the trunk for a moment as he fought to gain his breath. 

A muffled rustling sounded above him. 

"Reno!" he heard Yuffie hiss. "Hurry up!"

Running a hand over his face in frustration, Reno pulled himself unsteadily to his feet, more than prepared for the wave of nausea he knew would come. It didn't. He made his way to what he deemed to be a safe enough height, where the branches were still thick enough to hold them, and the cover was relative to the height. 

Finally able to rest, Reno felt himself sink onto a web of clustered branches, and laid his head back against the trunk, feeling the already tangled strands of his hair catch on the rough bark. Strangely though, despite the discomfort he was in, he felt restful – almost sleepy. He closed his eyes with a sigh, drowning out the voice that came from beside him, and let his body relax.

It didn't take long for unconsciousness to find him now that his adrenaline was gone, and this time as he slipped sideways Reno didn't even bother to fight it.

* * * * *

Yuffie's eyes widened as Reno began to pitch sideways, and she lunged forward to catch him moments before he fell. The branch she was perched on creaked loudly under the unexpected weight. She didn't have time to muffle so much as a curse when the torches that had been no more than a few hundred metres away suddenly spun in their direction.

Not knowing how she did it, Yuffie held onto Reno, eventually pulling him as quietly as she could back into a relatively upright position – 'upright' being a generalised term, as long as Reno stayed in the tree and didn't fall the forty-or-so feet to the ground they'd be fine, it didn't matter what way he was lying.

As the light grew ever-closer to them, Yuffie found herself biting her lip and hoping like hell that whatever was wrong with Reno would _stay_ wrong long enough for the men coming towards them to move away. The last thing she wanted was to have to fight outnumbered just because Reno woke up at the wrong moment.

As if the thought provoked the words a low moan sounded next to her. She started before realising that the sound was coming from Reno. Stifling a curse, Yuffie sucked in her breath, hoping like hell he wouldn't move or make any sound for a while.

He did, spiting her even in unconsciousness.

The torches that had moments ago swung away from them returned and she clamped a shivering hand over his mouth, strangely relieved when she saw the glazed aquamarine pools open with the touch. "Just fine, huh?" she mouthed silently as Reno's curious gaze found hers.

Reno's only response was to close his eyes and slump against her.

Yuffie froze, suddenly not caring who was coming after them. She shook Reno's shoulder roughly, fervently berating herself for hoping he would stay silent for longer. Whatever was wrong with Reno was obviously something serious. When he didn't respond to her aggravation, her face paled even more to the point that she was sure she no longer had any colour. 

Yuffie thought back, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. He hadn't been hurt, had he? Then she remembered the way his hand had rested against his side the entire time they'd been driving, the way he'd avoided her question when she'd asked him if he was fine. When she'd struck his side with the branch earlier on… And finally, the sound of the gun going off in the darkness of the alley. Her mind unconsciously put two and two together.

Yuffie fervently cursed her stupidity. How the hell had she not seen it before? Leaning over as carefully as she could, Yuffie struggled to balance both Reno's and her own weight on the network of branches they were resting on. Holding her breath against any sound she might make, she began to search for the problem.

It didn't take her long. By merely placing her hand against Reno's side she could feel the crisp outer-edges of the wound's area, where blood had dried and made the fabric stiff. But it wasn't that part that worried her. Further across the shirt was damp, fresh blood that flowed sluggishly between her fingers even as she found it. In the darkness she could only begin to imagine how bad the injury was, or where the exact location of the wound was, though a swelling on Reno's side was enough to give her the general vicinity. The one thing she did know, though, was that there was too much blood.

Tentatively, she put a little pressure on the wound in hopes of stopping the bleeding, but the pained grunt that came out of the silence was more than enough to tell her to stop. What would have normally been a small sound echoed frightfully throughout the woods. Voices answered the unconscious call, and whole words began to come out of the night, eventually complete sentences followed.

__

'Nice move, Yuff,' she berated herself. _'A flashing neon light would also be just as useful…'_

She cast a hasty glance toward the beacon of light coming toward them, then looked back to Reno. She couldn't say, but it appeared that the bullet was still in the wound. If that was the case, then she needed to get it out. But first, she needed to see, and for that she needed light…

As the torches again completed an ark in their direction Yuffie felt her mind swarm with possible outcomes of any confrontation. As it was she would be the only one fighting, and how was she supposed to keep Reno hidden and come out on top at the same time? She certainly had the element of surprise, though there was no doubt the men knew where they were now. Slowly, a plan began to form in her mind. Granted, it wasn't much of a plan, more of a 'jump out of the tree and land on as many as you can' kind of affair, but it was better than being _shot_ out of said tree. 

As the voices grew closer and Reno's breathing grew more laboured, she waited, hoping like hell that none of them were overly trigger happy, but then knowing that by the gunshots echoing in the alley earlier in the evening, she was asking for a bit much.

Inevitably, as time moved on, the men moved closer to them, and she felt her nerve waver. But then she thought of how heavy Reno was, and how carrying him back to Junon – or through this godforsaken forest – was less than appealing. She remembered how heavy he was. And how lazy. Better to get shot, then. So she sat back against the tree, and watched, and waited.

She didn't know what it actually was that propelled her out of the tree. But she did know that when the torch finally reached her, and swept upward so only she could be seen, that she merely acted. When she finally made impact with the ground she felt her ankle roll out underneath her, but ignored the pain that shot through it like wildfire – she had taken out two men along with her foot. Not a bad start. 

She kept fighting, though in the darkness it was a mere guessing game. A punch there, silence. A second punch followed by a string of imminent curses. A flick of the wrist, a sickening crack. Somewhere along the line a tentative swipe with a knife allowed a blade to ghost across her cheek; that was hastily dealt with. It didn't take her long to figure out what worked and what didn't. It also didn't take long for her enemy to find their holstered guns.

A sudden blinding flash was preceded by the painfully familiar click of a gun, and she froze mid-spin as a torch was directed into her eyes. The safety was off, this was serious.

"Don't move."

"Wouldn't dream of it," she muttered as her hands were seized by a firm grip and pinned behind her back.

The light was directed away from her and she allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness. From her position she could see three men, not including the one holding her. Four lay on the ground in blissful oblivion. She smirked, proud. Not bad for blind shots.

"Where's Reno?"

She dragged her gaze up as one of the men stepped forward. Play stupid. No idea. "Pardon?"

An open fist was quick to crack across her face, and she winced as she felt a cut on her lip begin to bleed. That was going to leave a mark.

"Don't get smart. Where is he?"

She let a bitter scowl creep across her face. Resentment. Anger. "You tell me."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Means that I've no idea."

"You're lying."

"I'm not, honest!"

"_Where, is_ he?"

"I-I don't know!"

The man raised his free hand and made as if to slap her again. Yuffie flinched back and made as if to cower in fear. Let them think they were in control. Let them think she was weak. She struggled weakly against the grip that held her. She let her previously arrogant facial expression melt away like ice in a desert.

"P-please don't hurt me! L-leave me alone!"

The man in front ignored her plea. "Where is he?"

"I-I don't know."

"Don't lie to me."

"Why w-would I lie to you if I had a gun pointed at my f-face?"

"You're certain, then."

"H-he said it'd be better to split up. I opened my mouth to reply and he was already gone. T-told me I moved through the forest too loudly. _Apparently_, that's true. T-tried to follow him but couldn't hear anything p-past m-my own feet. Haven't seen him since."

The gun lowered a little, the man's expression doubtful, but less so than before. "I don't believe you."

She snorted ruefully, bitter. "Believe what you want, then." She paused, then added somewhat negligently, "But this direction won't get you anywhere, just lost. Been going round in circles for the past century. Reno also told me I'm hopeless with directions."

"She's right, you know," came a voice behind the leader. "They haven't exactly picked a direction at all. There's no pattern to it."

The man at the front frowned in thought, then turned to the others. "We need to find him. If he's not here, then where is he?"

"They did report noises in their quarter coming from the south. Voices, not animals."

"You're sure?"

"Want me to contact 'em?"

A nod of concurrence. "If he's back there then he may have slipped between us. If so we have to catch him before he makes the main road. _If_ so, we don't have long. We've got to go."

As the second group of men was radioed in Yuffie made a mental note to allow herself a small pat on the back later on. But that thought was quickly forsaken for eye-popping fear when the leader gestured toward her in their direction and one of the other men produced a set of handcuffs and a short length of rope.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing with that?" She had expected them to try and drag her along with them, and that way she'd at least be able to jump them later on. Take them by surprise again at the very least. But now…

"Just what you asked for. We're leaving you alone."

"But aren't you going to take me with-"

"Now, now, miss," leered the leader as the handcuffs were fastened to the rope, and in turn her hands to the cuffs. Her back was pressed flush against the tree they'd tied her to and she was fastened there with a second piece of rope. She struggled for real this time, and was rewarded with a second slap to the same cheek. "I don't know who you are, but I expect you to be compliant. Wouldn't want parts of your pretty little face splattered all over the place because you tried to escape while we were around, now would you?"

"I-I… "

"I didn't think so." He turned away. "Check the injured, see who can travel and who can't. Deal with them if they can't. Then we leave. If Reno gets away I don't want to be the one to have to tell Donovan."

Checking the injured consisted of a quick check of the pulse and a prod with a booted toe. If the man woke upon the brief prompting then he was given a chance to stand, and a chance to return. If not, he was, well… disposed off.

Yuffie cringed as yet another shot went off somewhere beyond her line of sight, and ducked her head. This wasn't turning out at all liked she'd hoped. All she wanted was a goddamned torch, and instead she was bound and tied to a tree, with no room to breathe. She looked sourly up at the man she had long ago begun to hate and held his cold gaze for a long moment.

The man laughed. "There's no need to scowl at me, girl. I know when I'm giving a good deal, and when I'm not. And this one be good, so don't worry yourself. If your direction is as bad as you say, then I'm sure you'll be able to return to this very spot a number of times."

Yuffie pushed aside her urge to snap at the man. Her cheek was sore enough as it was. Instead she replaced her anger with a mask of fear. "I – w-what will you do with Reno when you find him?"

And although she knew Reno was as safe above her as he was ever going to be Yuffie couldn't help the chill that ran down her spine at the words.

"Oh, you don't need to worry yourself with that, girl. Reno's got a wee reunion with our boss that's been a while in coming, and Donovan is long past ready to make up for lost time."

And as they left she couldn't help but wonder, would she have been better to have stayed in the tree and been shot, or not?

* * * * *

__

To all my reviewers: Thank you so much for your comments! Like most authors around here I live off feedback, whether good, the bad, or the ugly. See you next chapter (which will not be too far away…) ^_^


	4. Compromise

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A Dish Best Served Cold,

By Ealinesse

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. Woohoo. ^_^

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Summary: A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane. 

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Warnings: Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language.

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Category: Action/Adventure.

* * *

* * *

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Chapter Three... 

* * *

Her hands were rubbed raw, her wrists were rubbed raw, she could almost swear that she'd dislocated her shoulder, her shuriken was digging into her side, and she was tired. Damn tired. But damned if she could sleep right now. Not with Reno still up in that tree, and her still here… wherever that was.

The torches in the distance had long since receded into the nothingness, and she couldn't be sure but it had to have been at least two hours since her encounter with the men. And she still didn't have a torch. Damn it, damn them, and damn Reno for making her worry.

At the thought of the Turk she struggled futily against the bonds that held her again. The handcuffs rubbed deeper, and the rope was only slightly less giving. Great, she was getting chafe from trying so hard. She gave up, but knew she'd have to try again soon. She couldn't stay here forever.

Little did the men know it, but they'd effectively tied her in the worst possible position, in the worst possible place. Had it been any other tree she could have perhaps caught a glimpse of Reno up in the tree, but no, they'd _had_ to tie her to the one tree in the forest that she didn't want them to. The _one_ tree in the forest that she had any affiliation with, and the _one_ tree that she actually gave a damn about… Not to mention that this was the one tree that Reno could fall out of and land on her.

Yuffie laid her head back against the unforgiving bark of the tree, experimentally smacking her head against the trunk just for good measure. The trunk didn't give. She hadn't expected it to. The thought darkened her mood. She scowled. 

"And damn the shitty tree, too," she muttered sourly, closing her eyes. If she couldn't sleep then so be it, but she wasn't just going to sit there and stare at nothing. That was just plain pointless.

* * * * *

Pain, possibly the first thing he'd ever really known, and possibly the first thing he'd ever learnt to deal with. To a point.

Reno groaned, a sound that came from deep in his throat that not only belied his physical pain, but his frustration at not knowing. How long had he been lying here in this godforsaken tree? Seconds, minutes, hours? … Days? How was it even possible to figure out the time when your arm was just as sore as the rest of you?

And where the hell was Yuffie? 

Well, there was only one way to find out.

Eventually, after what seemed like a thousand lifetimes, Reno gathered the energy to open his eyes. Ah, so they did still function, though somewhat reluctantly. Sharp pinnacles of light that had only before been red specks behind his eyelids made him blink them closed immediately. He shivered in reaction before realising that it was daytime. So it wasn't a torch shining in his eyes. They hadn't been found, that much he could assume.

Or could he?

"… Reno, that you?" came a small voice from below him. The tone sounded weary, bored almost, and very, very angry. Belatedly he realised it was coming from Yuffie. He realised there was no hint of the usual whine in her voice; he imagined that had worn itself out hours ago. A strange sort of relief ran through him upon knowing she was safe.

He opened his mouth to speak, but wasn't prepared for the ragged cough that erupted from his unused throat. After a moment he got the breathy hacking under control, a shaky hand going to his throat when he realised what that meant. Okay, so he'd been out longer than he'd thought. He opened his eyes again, noting that through the trees the sun was just below its zenith. Around noon, then. He'd been out at least ten hours. He lifted his arm; the watch confirmed it.

Shit.

"Yuffie?" he managed when he tried again, sounding a lot less like himself than he would have liked. "'the hell's going on?"

There was a low growl from beneath him. "You tell me, you've been the one dozing in the tree all night!" But there was some emotion beyond her anger there, and he knew suddenly that something was keeping her down there, and he wouldn't be able to see what it was until he got up. Until.

He put his hands underneath him and pressed upward, knowing that it was going to more than hurt him to stand. He swayed a little, pressed a hand against his side, the other against the tree just to stay upright, but he managed it. He looked down and his eyes widened at his current elevation. A sudden wave of vertigo washed over him as he realised that he'd obviously climbed a lot further up than he had thought. 

Hastily Reno re-established his bond with his knee joints. Falling from the tree would _not_ help things right now. He began to climb down. Or, more accurately, stumble down. When he reached the bottom he was puffing, coughing soon after. When he got his breath under control he finally found himself able to focus on other things… 

Like the fact that Yuffie was tied to a tree in front of him, looking impatient, but none the worse for wear. In better shape than him at least. He imagined he resembled hell warmed over.

He smirked, feeling suddenly better, and stood straighter, ignoring his side. Like always it could wait. "Comfy?" The scowl that painted itself across Yuffie's face was more than worth the pain it took him to stagger over to her.

Yuffie glared up at him out of the corner of her eye. She didn't move; she couldn't. "Get me out of here!"

"Of where?"

"Reno!"

"All right, all right!" He snickered and began to kneel by her side when a sudden wave of dizziness knocked him to his knees. He gasped for breath and his gloved hand flew to his side, his vision blotting out completely before he found himself supported by the trunk of the tree. He blinked away the nausea, tried to ignore the sickening feeling of the bullet moving around in his side, and looked up at Yuffie.

"… Reno?" she asked after a moment, suddenly hesitant to be so boisterous.

He paused, frowned, then leaned in behind her and began to unhinge the ropes to distract his shaking hands. "Fine," was his clipped reply.

Out of the corner of his eye Reno saw Yuffie's scowl deepen "I've been stuck here all night, and by the time those idiots were gone, you had passed out completely. I was yelling for you, _all night_, and not once did you so much as acknowledge me! My _ass_ you're fine."

Reno winced. "How loud were you-"

"_Loud_!"

"Oh. And I didn't-"

"_No_!"

Reno grinned. "Slept like a baby, huh?"

"Well I'm sure glad _somebody_ did. And by the way, stop grinning. This is not funny."

Reno bit his lip and screwed up his face from beside her. "I'm not grinning."

"Right. Just get these ropes undone!"

"I am."

"No you're not, you're just-"

Reno stood slowly, smirking as, as he did so, said ropes fell from around Yuffie to the ground. He lifted his hands palm-up in surrender, before raising his eyebrows in question. "Just what?"

Yuffie scowled and clambered to her feet, dusting herself down in disgust. "That's the last time I chase some thugs away for you, Turk."

"_Chase_ them away?"

"Yes."

"You chased them away while tied to a tree?" Reno watched as Yuffie continued to eye him with an icy sidelong glance. "A truly amazing feat."

"Oh, shut up, Reno." She turned to face him, glared, and when that wasn't punishment enough moved forward and prodded him in the shoulder. "Let me take a look at your side."

Reno grimaced and took a step back, and it wasn't until she looked down at the injury that he noticed the bloody gash across her cheek. All thoughts of harmless insults and irrepressible banter flew from his mind. Eyes widening, Reno took a wary step forward, a distant fear rising in his gut as he recognised the slash on Yuffie's cheek for what he also hoped it wasn't. Unbidden, a flash of memory returned to him, and his hands flew to his own cheek, where similar scars lay.

"No… "

"… Reno?"

He looked up, not realising that he'd looked away, and again he caught sight of the dried blood, the long gash. "Who did that to you?"

Yuffie's brows furrowed and she brought her hand up to her cheek, wincing lightly at the light contact. "This?"

"Yes."

Yuffie shrugged, puzzled. "Why does it matter?"

"Who?" For once Reno was not in the mood for abject phrases. If that was what he thought it was, then Yuffie could be in serious trouble. When the ninja didn't answer, just frowned, he scowled. "Brat, I need to know-"

"I don't know, okay? I fought them in the dark so they wouldn't find you, and I didn't have a torch. Most of it were just lucky swipes." Her fingers flew lightly across her cheek. "This was one of them. Why?"

"Never mind. What happened to them?"

"They left."

"Was Donovan with them?"

"Who?"

"The man you knocked out in the alley."

"No. They said something about reporting to him back in Midgar."

"Where did they go?"

Yuffie pointed. "That way."

"Did you hear why they were going that way?"

This time a small smile crept onto Yuffie's face. "Uh, yeah. I told them you left me behind."

"You _what!_ And they believed you?"

Yuffie sniffed indignantly. "I was very convincing. And besides, what is this, twenty questions? If so, when do I get my turn? I'd rather like to know why I got tied to a tree and-"

"And so they went looking for me that way, and never came back?"

She sighed. "That's right."

"Right, then." Reno turned and began to take a look around the woods. After evidently seeing what he wanted, he began to walk with slow, deliberate paces in the opposite direction to where Yuffie had pointed.

Not believing her eyes, and not sure she even wanted to believe, Yuffie bolted after him. "Where are you going?"

"I would think that was painfully obvious, Yuff."

"Okay, let me rephrase that. _Why_?"

Reno stopped then, and a dozen expressions flickered across his face. When he finally looked up at her, his eyes were shadowed. "Do you want to be here when they come back?"

She hesitated. "Surely they'd be gone by now. We could head back to the road and catch another car. We're safe no-"

"You really think that?"

No. She didn't.

She had no reply to that. Yuffie shivered, the thug's words from the previous night echoing through her mind unpleasantly. She resumed walking then, but paused after a moment as she noticed how slow the Turk was moving. It had obviously cost him a great deal to even so much as humour her outright.

"All right," she said like it actually mattered. "But at least let me check your side over first. That bullet has to come out."

"No way," came the reply. "It can wait. The last thing I want is to die of blood poisoning because you've gone and got it infected. Besides, that cut on your face needs checking out just as badly."

"Stop changing the subject, my face is fine. You, on the other hand, look like a light breeze could blow you over."

Reno smirked. "I'm a Turk. If that means anything to you, then you'll know that I've been through a lot worse." He paused then, as if he were about to say something else, then closed his mouth, obviously thinking better of openly saying whatever had come to mind. She watched his eyes flicker to her cheek before he turned and began again his laboured pace. 

"We'll see," she distinctly heard him say. And for some reason, those words were of no comfort to her. With a sigh of disconcerted frustration, she raced up to follow him, but tripped on something entirely unexpected.

Red-faced, Yuffie clambered to her feet even as Reno turned to face her, amused. Wondering what the hell she'd been stupid enough to stumble over, she looked back, paling at the sight of the bodies she had long-since forgotten about. About to comment with distaste at the state of the man's face, she instead found her eyes drifting toward a very familiar object. Disbelieving, Yuffie picked up the small cylindrical item and turned it in her grip, quickly finding a small switch on its side. Biting her lip, Yuffie flicked the object, delighted when the small bulb inside flared to life.

"Well I'll be damned," she said, now feeling more than a little annoyed at her apparent lack of good fortune. "Of course, _now_, in the _daytime_ I would manage to find a bloody torch."

* * * * *

Goddamn was she thirsty. She had no idea how long she'd been without food, and whenever she asked Reno, he seemed to get a kick out of saying, "too long". The joy he seemed to get out of this eluded her, however, but she humoured him. She was definitely getting a kick out of how much the countless twigs that littered the forest's floor seemed to like Reno's feet.

"Damn it all to fucking hell!" Reno cursed, stopping for the thousandth time before squaring his jaw in annoyance. Somewhat awkwardly, he bent down and unlaced his boots, before removing said footwear and emptying out what must have been at least a dozen small objects. "Waterproof, yes. Forest-proof, no."

Yuffie snickered. "'Forest-proof?'"

Reno shot Yuffie a dark look as he put his shoe back on. "You know what I mean. I can't get ten paces before I fill the remainder of this fucking thing, " Reno gestured frustratedly in the general vicinity of his boot, "with crap!"

Yuffie watched pensively as he began to walk again, and followed slowly behind. She was more than a little puzzled when he stopped within the next few feet.

"What's the matter," she grinned, "More prickles?"

He lifted his arm in the air without turning around, then shook his head and continued on. "Never mind. It's nothing."

"Nothing."

There was a snort of amusement. He shrugged negligently and tried to dismiss her attention. "Nup. Just thought I heard a stream or something, that's all."

Yuffie froze, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. Those words had been carefully crafted, and even at the mere suggestion she felt the dryness of her lips, and flicked her tongue out of dampen them down. She sighed. "Stop making shit up. I _really_ am thirsty."

They wandered another few steps, after which the sound of trickling water became apparent to her as well. Hesitant, she slowed her pace before realising that she wasn't hearing things. "And I really _do_ hear water," she said slowly as she ran ahead.

Reno reached her shortly after, a little less steady on his feet, his side hurting him more than he was willing to let on. He crouched beside her and she saw his hand hover lightly over the surface of the small stream before plunging in and bringing a small amount of water to his lips. She grinned and mimicked the action, feeling the soothing trickle of the water down her throat. She sighed and sat back for a moment on the heels of her hands by the edge of the small creek, suddenly aware of the dirt and the grime that no doubt covered her face. She shifted onto her knees and brought her face close to the water to take a better look.

Filthy.

With a look of resignation Yuffie bent further over and began scrubbing vigorously at her face, but stopped when she reached the cut on her cheek. She frowned, leaning closer to the water. What had Reno meant when he'd said "we'll see"?

"How do you feel?"

Yuffie fairly jumped out of her skin. Leaping back from the water she failed to compensate for the muddiness of the bank, and her boots slipped on the edge of it. It was a matter of seconds before her feet were utterly soaked. She jumped disgustedly to her feet and clambered up the bank, turning to face Reno. 

Ready to punch the Turk for the amusement she knew to be there, Yuffie was surprised to see him sitting in a way similar to how she had been before, not a metre away from the place where her foot had collapsed the bank. His face was carefully neutral, but if she thought that there had been even so much as a trace of humour just below the surface, then she was wrong.

Ending the tirade she had barely begun, Yuffie stopped dead, suddenly a little more than unsure of herself. "What do you mean, 'how do I feel?'" she said after a moment, anger long-since faded. "What aren't you telling me?"

Reno got to his feet then, and Yuffie tried to ignore his eyes on her cheek. "Answer my question."

"F-fine," she said hesitantly. "I feel fine."

Reno narrowed his eyes at this, then stopped his progress towards her and turned away. "Sure?"

"Positive," she said slowly. "Why are you asking me this when you're the only one who is hurt?"

As if on second thought Yuffie saw Reno's head angle downward toward his side. She watched his shoulders seem to slump, and moved to stand in front of him. Earlier on she'd been able to ignore all the blood that he'd lost, but right now, standing dead-on she paled visibly as she looked through the sizeable hole that had been torn in his shirt. She winced, feeling vaguely sorry for the Turk.

"Reno, you really need to wash that out before it becomes infected. And even before you can afford to get some medical attention or a Cure spell, you first need to-"

"Get the bullet out, I know, I know. But hell if I'm getting the thing out in the middle of nowhere-"

"_Reno_," Yuffie growled. "It's more likely to get infected if you _leave_ it _in_ there! Stop wussing out and just get it over with."

"Wuss?" 

"Turk, wuss, same thing," Yuffie said almost negligently.

Reno seemed to freeze for an instant, and Yuffie was afraid that his next words were going to be in anger. Instead he merely let out an annoyed sigh. She watched as he cast a look behind him, then a frustrated glance at her, then sat down again on the bank. Yuffie followed quickly behind, feeling her boots squelch with the water that had saturated them. She cast him a sidelong glance, watching as confusing emotions continued to war across his face.

She was about to speak again when she was beaten to it.

"I'll cut you a deal," Reno said slowly from beside her. "If you clean out that cut properly, then I'll wash off my side, but not a moment before."

Yuffie frowned, but didn't comment. Obviously this was important, or he wouldn't be kicking up such a fuss about it. She pursed her lips. "And the bullet?"

Reno sighed again from beside her, and Yuffie considered how out of character it sounded for him to do so so often. "Consider it gone."

Feeling like she had just won a major victory on her part, Yuffie smiled and proceeded to carefully scrub at the cut on her face. 

* * * * * 

From beside her there came a low grunt of pain accompanied by a final splash of water. "I don't think I can get the bullet out by myself you know."

Yuffie felt a lump grow in her throat. She knew that she would be the one to end up doing this, but there had always been the hope that she wouldn't have to. She was almost tempted to go back on her word and tell him he could leave the damned thing in there, but decided against it. It had to come out, and it had to be soon. As it was, he was lucky he hadn't contracted a major infection.

She sighed and squared her jaw before looking at the wound Reno had cleaned up. She could do this. She'd seen Tifa do it before. She'd seen Cid cauterise a sword wound. Hell, she'd even been stupid enough to stitch her own leg up once, but that was different. She trusted herself enough to know that she was responsible for her own mistakes, but sticking your hand inside someone _elses_ insides to remove something that wasn't supposed to be there in the first place admittedly made her more than a little squeamish.

She let her eyes drift up to meet Reno's.

Something akin to amusement and apprehension flickered across his face. "Not going to go back on your word, are you?"

Yuffie scowled and tried to keep herself from retching. Managing to look contemplative for but a second, she shifted her expression into that of a smirk. She crossed her arms across her chest. "No, actually, I'm rather looking forward to digging around in your insides so you can bleed to death."

This time Reno's look was one of brief surprise before he covered it up. "Oh, good," he said finally with a loud snort and a grin. "My life rests in the hands of a sadist bitch."

Yuffie snickered, then sucked in a deep breath and began looking around for something she could use to stop the bleeding. Finding what she needed in the sleeve of her shirt, she tugged at it until she felt the satisfying rip of the fabric. She did the same with the other sleeve, then proceeded to ball them up and place them by her side.

She looked Reno in the eye. "You're sure about this?"

Reno just stared back at her, then lay carefully back on the grassy bank, hands behind his head with a wince. "You're the one who told me it has to come out. Better sooner than later, right?"

She didn't like the sound of those words, but found she had nothing to reply then. Closing her eyes, Yuffie thought back to the day Tifa had dug the bullet out of Cloud's side. She ignored the fact that _she_ had at least had something other than water to clean out the wound, and she had had at _least_ two extra pairs of hands to hold her patient down…

Without thinking Yuffie opened her eyes and realised that if she was going to do this, it had to be now. Before she could talk herself out of it.

She shuffled over to the creek and rinsed her hands thoroughly, forcing her breathing to stay normal. Shaking the excess water off her hands, Yuffie turned and bent over Reno's side, chewing on the side of her lip. She cast a quick glance at Reno, then seemed to decide on something else. 

"Do you want something to bite down on so-"

Reno procured a bleached twig from behind his head and bit down on it with a grim determination. Apparently, he had already thought of that.

Right. 

She had to do this. Hell, she couldn't afford to worry about the fact that even _he_, the _victim_, was more ready for this than she was. She bent even further over the Turk's side and pulled the shirt up. Allowing her hands to hover over Reno's side, and her eyes to adjust to the angry red sight, she began to count down in her head from a nice, big number.

Reno must have seen her hesitancy. "It's going to hurt either way, Yuff, and counting down in your head won't make it any easier than it is," he spoke around the twig. "You know what you have to do, now _do_ it."

That was the confirmation she needed. With the kind of grim determination that she had never known she'd possessed for such things, and the memory of Tifa doing the same thing in the back of her mind, Yuffie went to work, trying to ignore the sudden tenseness in Reno's muscles, and the way his face twisted with the pain no matter how he tried to guard his expression…

* * * * *

Yuffie ignored the sickening feeling pooling inside her gut and continued with her… task. She had been at this for nearly fifteen minutes, seemingly every second clearing the blood away in an effort to merely see past the end of her own hand. Every now and then she cast a nervous glance up at Reno, telling herself that the paleness of his face was more to do with the contrast of all the blood than anything else. She had long since ceased to asked him how he was holding up, and she wouldn't do so until she found the goddamned bullet.

Tearing again at the hem of her shorts, Yuffie cast a sidelong glance at the ball of blood-soaked fabric by her side. So much for only needing to tear up the sleeves of her shirt – she'd long-since resorted to converting her pants to shorts. When the material again gave way, Yuffie screwed it up and put more pressure on Reno's side. 

When enough blood was satisfactorily cleared away, she began again, probing with her fingers at Reno's side until she again realised that she was going to have to open the wound wider; there just wasn't enough room for her fingers to enter and remove the bullet safely. She just hoped she wasn't making the wrong decision.

But just as before, Reno sighed. "Just do it, Yuff," he ground out. "I would have thought you'd enjoy the idea of gutting me like a fish."

Yuffie mimicked his sigh and dipped her shuriken in the creek again, using the tempered steel to extend the bounds of the entry wound. When she felt it was wide enough, she swallowed around the lump in her throat and dropped the bloody weapon with heartfelt disgust. This time when she began to feel around for the bullet, she had enough room to move, and it was with a satisfying feeling of elation that she realised she had finally found the cause of the Turk's pain.

Taking the time to dab at the wound again, Yuffie kept the material in her hand when she was finished and used her free hand to explore the wound she had been desperately trying to work with for the past quarter hour. It was deep, but not overly wide, and she was relieved to finally find that the bullet had stopped just passed a rib instead of carrying further on and hitting something more vital.

Yuffie sighed. Now all she had to do was get the damned thing out and stop the bleeding.

She bit on her tongue and reached deeper, feeling sick and wretched for even doing such a thing, and paling visibly at the short grunt of pain that rose from beside her. After what seemed to be no less than a lifetime Yuffie felt her hand close in on the bullet, and she tried hard to stop her grip on the thing from slipping. 

"Nearly there, Reno…" The words were as much for her as they were for him, and out before she could stop them. Yuffie licked dry lips and forced her concentration to linger a moment longer as, suddenly, bloody flesh gave way around her hand to release the bullet with a sickening pop. "There," she exhaled, and felt all of her resolve collapse from around her. She dropped the bullet to the ground bonelessly and immediately pressed the least bloodiest of the makeshift cloths against Reno's side with suddenly shaky hands.

"Done," she said again with some satisfaction, and when there was no answer, Yuffie realised that with nothing else to do she had to check on Reno's condition.

Carefully applying even pressure to the wound, Yuffie scrambled around to kneel by Reno's head, where she could take a closer look. He was pale, very much so, and a fine sheen of sweat covered his forehead. Even from about a metre away she could see how tightly his teeth were clenched to the small twig. Yuffie blanched, but forced herself to keep a tight reign on her common sense. He _was_ breathing; she was at least to be glad of that.

"Reno," she said after a minute, bending further over the still Turk to check his pulse. If he was unconscious, then that was at least a start. "Reno, can you hear-"

Her words were cut off as something very close to her was thrown into her face. Yuffie blinked and flinched away from the object, then tentatively blinked her eyes open to find what the hell had just had the gall to flick her in the face. When she saw it, she blinked. A twig. Right. That would mean that Reno…

"Jeez, Yuff, can't a guy get a little… rest around here?" His voice was breathy, almost shaky, but it was there, faint humour bubbling just below the surface. 

Yuffie turned away from his somehow steady gaze and expelled the breath she hadn't known that she had been holding. She looked down at her hands, not surprised to find that she was shaking like a leaf. God, how the hell had she managed to even grip onto the bullet by doing that? Counting to ten, she slowly brought herself under control without so much as a word from Reno. 

When she finally felt herself calm, faint anger rose up under the surface and she turned back to Reno, who was grinning at her like the Cheshire Cat. She punched him lightly in the shoulder, her eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you say anything!"

Reno began to laugh, but thought better of it when his side twinged in pain. He shrugged instead, a raised eyebrow belying his amusement. "Turk, wuss, same thing, remember?" He snorted, seeming vaguely satisfied with himself. "And besides, you were a lot less rough with my side when you thought that."

Fairly fuming, Yuffie only just managed to keep her face from turning a nice, deep shade of red. She ducked her head, then on second thought turned her whole body around and began to scrub the blood off her hands and the shredded cloths in the creek. "You're an asshole," she muttered under her breath. "Incorrigible, bloody asshole."

Her only answer was a laugh from said asshole, and four words. 

"Why thank you, _brat_."

With a raised eyebrow she continued her scrubbing, relief coursing through her despite the Turk's last comment. _Yep_, she thought dryly._ He's going to be just fine._

* * * * *


	5. Country Bumpkins

**Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,**

**By Ealinesse**

****

****

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. Woohoo. ^_^

**Summary:** A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane. 

**Warnings:** Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language.

**Category:** Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Reno being immature… Nothing too unusual, really.

* * *

* * *

**Chapter Four... **

* * *

Reno got to his feet with a stifled groan, very aware of the blood-soaked cloths at his feet, and the equally blood-soaked material that was doing a pitiful job of concealing his injury. Ignoring the wave of dizziness that tried to knock him back to the ground, he sucked in a sharp intake of breath as his side twinged with pain. It felt like someone had shoved their entire fist into his side, and rearranged his insides inch by painful inch.

Oh wait. Scratch that. They had. 

Stretching as much as his protesting wound would let him, Reno raised an eyebrow as he caught Yuffie slouched against a tree, eyes closed. He stopped the frown before it developed, wondering if, by some stretch of the imagination, she had teleported over to the tree in a matter of seconds and fallen asleep in the process. 

He _had_ only closed his eyes for that long, right? 

He looked upward through the canopy of trees, but found no answer there. Hell, he couldn't even see the sky, let alone the sun. He glanced at his watch, then realised he had no way of telling when Yuffie had started hacking at his side. He would have cursed if he could have, though right now his tongue was doing a good job of impersonating a dehydrated lump of meat, and was entirely incapable of producing anything resembling a decent sound. This time he did frown. Losing time was never a good thing when you were running for your life.

Striding over to Yuffie, Reno smirked, shrugging the avid feeling of dread into the back of his mind. He crouched beside the slumbering figure, more than prepared to give her the fright of her life, when a pair of very wide, very lucid eyes snapped open and fixed him with an amused stare.

"I see you're feeling better."

Reno blinked, managed to conceal his shock, and took a step backward as Yuffie got effortlessly to her feet before him.

"What, cat got your tongue?" 

Though the tone was decidedly sarcastic, there was the smallest hint of relief in the words. Reno shrugged and cleared his throat. "Must be the company."

Yuffie raised her eyebrows. "Yup. Definitely feeling better."

"No thanks to you." Reno lifted the hem of his tattered and filth-ridden shirt. "What were you trying to do, anyway, tenderise it before you got to the bullet?"

Reno watched as the brunette paled slightly, then finally offered a slightly negligent shrug. He almost felt sorry for her as he realised she really had been worried about the damage she'd caused…

"Actually, I was. I'd always wondered whether Turks bled red."

… Almost.

Reno scowled. "Sadist."

"Turk."

He ignored the retort, and instead took a quick glance around their immediate area. When he recognised nothing, he looked again. "What the hell," he muttered after a moment.

"What the hell… what?"

"What way did we come from?"

There was a moment's silence. "That way?" was the eventual reply, though it was less than helpful.

Reno felt a day's worth of pent up anger bubble up inside him. "You don't know?" he exclaimed.

"Hey, in case you haven't noticed, neither do you!"

He pointed a gloved finger at Yuffie. "_I_ had an excuse!"

"And what was that?"

"_I_ wasn't in my right mind. I was-"

"Since when has that ever mattered?"

Reno blinked. His eyes narrowed. He bit his tongue to hold the retort back. "Brat," he spat when he couldn't hold it in any longer, and continued looking around. From behind him there was a snort, and the low rustling sound of someone shuffling around on the bed of leaves and twigs that was a constant in this accursed place. After another few moments he heard a satisfied exhalation of breath. 

"Aha!"

Reno cast a steady glance over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Yuffie pointed to a spot beyond him, tilting her head briefly in decision. "We go that way."

Reno frowned and turned to where she was pointing, not understanding. "What's so special about that way?"

Yuffie winced and offered a light shrug before picking disgustedly at a branch beside her. "It's in the opposite direction to the bloodstains on the trees."

Reno's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. Instead he spun on his heel and made his way over the small creek and into the forest, the sounds of hundreds of tiny twigs snapping as Yuffie followed wordlessly behind him.

*  *  *  *  *

It was getting dark. That was the first thing she was becoming painfully aware of. The second was the fact that Reno was lagging further and further behind. Yuffie winced as her thoughts came in time to reveal a solid curse from behind her that only solidified her claim. She turned back to face the Turk, and saw him pushing his way unsteadily through the dense foliage, struggling against even the weak grip the branches held on him. He didn't look happy.

She nearly stepped forward to help, but held back at the last minute. When she'd done so about five minutes ago she'd nearly had her head decapitated by a flying branch, and her eardrums burst by curses – some of which she was sure even Cid hadn't heard. So instead she turned around and kept walking. And walking.

… And walking.

Yuffie stopped with a heavy sigh and held her hand out in front of her face. She frowned. Yup. It was definitely dusk, not just the weather, though it wasn't like she could tell by looking up; she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen the sky. She had to squint just to see her hand in front of her face properly.

She turned to Reno. "I think we're going the wrong way… the forest only seems to be getting thicker…" 

Reno walked straight passed her, and didn't even look up. "I wouldn't be surprised."

Yuffie frowned, then on second thought raised an eyebrow. "Don't you care that we don't know where we are?"

This time Reno did stop. He looked up at her, though his expression was hidden by the deep shadows. "When you're being hunted, it's better to be lost than found."

Yuffie blinked as Reno continued onward, ignoring the way the knot in her stomach seemed to rumble as she realised that this wasn't going very well. She was supposed to be drunk, smashed right off her face at the biggest party of the year… and Reno… Hell, he shouldn't have even been sitting up with that injury, let alone walking around aggravating it. She sighed again. Right now, she was sure she'd give anything to get out of the accursed place.

*  *  *  *  *

Yuffie stumbled out into what she initially thought was a clearing with the faintest inkling of hope in her chest. She looked up, having to shield her eyes against the intensity of the light, dull even as it was. It was with a strange kind of relief that she watched the white and yellow spots dancing in front of her eyes; she could see the sky, at last. However when her eyes finally adjusted, she felt her jaw drop, and the tiny glimmer of hope in her heart flared into something more tangible as she forced herself to blink not once, but twice. This wasn't just a clearing…

"Well I'll be…"

It was a road. A genuine, straight gravel, honest-to-God road. And by the looks of the fresh tracks it was frequently used. She felt a slow grin creep across her face before she could stop it, and she turned to face Reno. "We're out!" she crowed. "Goodbye trees! Goodbye forest! Goodbye twigs in my shoes!"

"I thought you said your shoes didn't get twigs in them?"

Yuffie snapped her mouth shut, then did her best imitation of a carp out of water for a few seconds. "I just guess I'm a whole lot more tolerant than you."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "I'll believe that when I see it."

But Yuffie wasn't listening. Now that they'd finally reached… well, _somewhere_, there were more decisions to be faced. Like which way they were even supposed to go, for instance. Yuffie surveyed the road from all angles, looking left, then right, then straight ahead into the forest that spanned across the other side of the road as well. She frowned, her mood already dampening. Reno had said they were to make their way to Junon – how were they supposed to get there if they didn't know which way to turn?

"Are you coming, or are you going to just stand there all day?" 

Yuffie jumped and spun around. Reno was nowhere to be seen. She looked up and down the road, frowned, and looked up and down the road again. Had she spent so long in her little dilemma that Reno had somehow gotten way ahead of her? Somehow she doubted it. Reno was still obviously hurting, and all of that blood loss and expenditure of unnecessary energy was slowing him down more than he was willing to admit. 

"Where are you?"

"Over here."

Yuffie turned to the voice, her eyes widening as she realised that he was standing a fair way away from the road, and was beginning to walk along the treeline. "What are you doing down there?" she called out, confused. "We should flag down a car to take us to Junon."

"And what if the car we flag down turns out to be Donovan's? What then? Run through the forest again to the other side? Hitch a ride? Climb a tree and hope like hell they won't find us? What?"

Yuffie's frown deepened. Reno didn't turn around when he spoke, just kept walking. She looked up at the sky, and realised that now that her eyes had finally adjusted to the previously unaccustomed brightness, it was a lot darker than she had initially thought. It was heading towards the end of dusk, and night in this area fell quickly. She sighed. "It's getting dark, we can't keep walking along these trees. You know how it was last night, and it's worse now; it's cloudy. I suppose we could use the torch, but-"

"Wrong."

Yuffie crossed her arms across her chest and scrambled down the small bank to the treeline. "What do you mean, 'wrong'?" she muttered as she caught up to the Turk.

"We can't use the torch. If Donovan is searching this area for us, then don't you think two people walking along the road with a torch would be a little suspicious?"

"… Oh."

"Yes. Oh."

Yuffie ignored the complacent tone in Reno's voice. "So there's no way we can-"

"No, Yuff. No way at all. We're walking, get used to it."

She scowled. "So I stole that torch last night for nothing?"

"Probably. Why, what does it matter?"

Her scowl deepened. "It doesn't now, but I'd like to think that there would be at least some benefit to getting tied to a tree for a day."

There was a short silence, and Yuffie used that time to pout, thrusting her bottom lip out generously and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Quit your moping."

Yuffie raised a delicate eyebrow. "And why should I do that?" she muttered petulantly.

"Because you're not the one with a fist-sized hole in your side."

"Feeling sorry for yourself, too, Turkey?"

"At least I have a reason to be."

Yuffie sighed, her irritable mood fading at the words. He was right. She was unhurt, and merely cold and hungry. He was injured, cold, and just as hungry as her, not to mention the fact that he had someone hunting him. She imagined this was not how he'd expected this stakeout to go. Catching up to Reno, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "What's between you two, anyway?"

She had expected Reno to offer a flippant reply and a casual smirk. What she had not expected was for him to stop and turn away, hands clenched into white-knuckled fists at his side. Yuffie took a wary step forward, something in her telling her to keeping pressing, even though alarm bells were going off inside her head. "… Reno?"

"Blood."

"… What?"

"It's a matter of blood. It doesn't concern you."

"Okay, but-"

"Just don't ask about it again."

"But I-"

"I said _no,_ brat." And he walked away, features cast in shadows so deep that Yuffie couldn't see anything but his slumped posture, his slight limp. The jaded ferocity in his voice was the only thing that belied his battered frame. "Just… _don't_."

*  *  *  *  *

She didn't know what was making her do it, but for the past half an hour she'd stuck to Reno's side like glue. The earlier tension broken, Reno's only comment as the inky pitch of evening had closed in was a snide remark about her being afraid of the dark. Now, though, she knew why.

Yuffie watched with barely concealed alarm as the Turk's legs, which had been taking him less and less far as the evening grew on, suddenly gave out beneath him. Again, she didn't know how, but seconds later she was right beside him, his arm slung across her shoulder in a flash as her body struggled to allow for the weight he'd suddenly let fall. As what she'd just done registered and Reno's scrutiny turned to her, she was glad the darkness hid her blush.

For a few seconds she merely stood there allowing her body to compensate for the sudden burden. A moment later she straightened her back, painfully aware of the heavy breathing right beside her. This time there was no denying that Reno was in pain.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

"_Goddamnedmotherfuckingsonofabitch_," was the breathy reply.

"… Reno?"

"_Fine_. I'm… fine, Yuff."

Yuffie let out a frustrated sigh. "Reno," she warned, "I've seen fine. And _you_, are definitely far from it."

"Just what… are you implying?"

She smirked, curbing her worry at the humour hidden under the words. "That we have to get to Junon."

"We _are_."

Yuffie felt a small pressure on her shoulder and realised that Reno was trying to push away and get himself to his feet. She placed a firm grip over the arm she'd slung over her shoulder and squared her jaw. "Oh no you don't, Turk. Stop pushing yourself. Accept the help, because it'll be the last time I let you away with slacking off."

There was a snort, accompanied by a low hiss of pain. "You said that last time."

Yuffie blinked, a feeling of déjà vu flashing in her mind. It was gone as quickly as it came, as was the scent of dry grass and the metallic tang of blood. She took a slow step forward, realising that the distinct lack of food, water, and medical supplies was not helping Reno to recover the way he normally would. She allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction as she felt Reno take an equally small step forward. "And look where that got me," she replied a second later. "I seem to recall being left at the public toilets while you jumped through the back window to get away."

In the darkness Yuffie caught the barest flash of white teeth, and an equally vivid glimmer of glowing Mako eyes. "I told you earlier, it must have been the company."

Yuffie feigned hurt, but kept walking. At least he was talking in whole sentences now, and he wasn't snapping at her the way he had before. This was a drastic change in mood. "That _company_ bought a decent Antidote for a very sick Turk, _and _carted him around in the sun for a day and a half."

"Funny. I seem to remember being dumped on the ground because a certain _someone_ told me they weren't going to carry me for any more than half a day."

Yuffie swore under her breath. "You were delirious."

"I wasn't _that_ bad."

"_De_-nial. You couldn't even talk without sounding like a full-fledged drunk."

Again there was a grin. "It was a pity trip. You were nicer to me when you felt sorry for me."

Yuffie painted a glare onto her face. "I did _not_ feel sorry for you!"

"Did so."

"Did not!"

"Did… _shit_!"

Yuffie blinked. "Well that's new."

Her only reply was for Reno to lift a finger to his lips and then point to a web of trees to their left. "Go!" he whispered hastily, and she complied, at the same time noticing the brightening beam of oncoming lights. She felt a small pang of longing, but realised that signalling a car would not, by far, be the smartest thing to do under the circumstances.

They hurried over to the cover of bushes, ducking behind branches and holding their breath as the car sped passed. As the car and the steady hum of its engine faded out into the distance, the silence remained. And yet it was an even longer moment before either of the two made a move, and a short time more before either spoke. 

Yuffie shivered, suddenly cold. _Probably due to the fact that I had to practically strip to stop Reno from bleeding like a stuck pig._ She looked up at Reno, who looked to be in no better condition himself. "Keep walking?"

"What do you think?"

Yuffie practially gulped, imagining the stock of blisters she was going to be adding to the already large pile. "… Along here?"

"You bet."

Yuffie groaned and pulled Reno to his feet, again keeping a tight reign on his arm as he attempted to pull away. She dug her fingernails into his hand and gritted her teeth. "Turk, it helps if you're conscious. I am _not_ carrying you if you pass out from straining yourself. Stop being such a difficult bastard. You've never had a problem with being lazy before."

"… Well I wouldn't want to spoil the fun, would I?"

*  *  *  *  *

"Yuck! Turk, this better just be mud, or otherwise you're cleaning my shoes when we get out of here!"

Reno smirked and took a deliberate stumble, his amused expression trailing off into a grin that was hidden by the darkness as he heard Yuffie curse from beside him.

"Reno!"

"What?" he answered after a moment, regaining his feet, the short instance of pain and dizziness well worth Yuffie's reaction. "Don't tell me you've never been on a farm before, Yuff."

"_Reno_… Don't tell me you want to end up face-first in this… this…"

"Shit?" Reno raised an eyebrow and snapped his mouth shut as he felt the support against his side being withdrawn. He snorted and shrugged, and the firm grip returned. He heaved a silent sigh of relief. He had little doubt that Yuffie would have carried out that particular threat. However, despite how he often spent his nights getting well acquainted with the ground, this was one particular evening he had little desire to roll in a sty of mud and animal filth, no matter what Rude would have said.

Five minutes later, mud dissolved into shingle, then shingle into loose concrete block. Reno narrowed his eyes, squinting in the odd half-light of the farm's courtyard. They'd seen the driveway not ten minutes ago, and since the two of them had fervently agreed that they were sick of walking, they had decided to pay a visit to the farm in the off chance that there would be a vehicle available for the stealing. He smirked. Permanently borrowing. Crashing.

Whatever.

"See anything?"

Reno offered an awkward one-shouldered shrug. "Nothing. But what do you expect when it's pitch black and all of the shed doors are closed?" When Yuffie made no move to react, Reno jerked his chin in the direction of a looming black shadow that was out of the immediate vicinity of the yard's lights. "Come on. This way."

It was clumsy progress from that point on. The obviously ancient paving was uneven and cracked, and many times the two found themselves straying back onto patches of mud, or into hidden puddles. After what seemed like forever – but what really could have been little more than the space of two hundred metres – they reached the shed, and consequently, its large, shackled, corrugated door.

"So… how do we get in?"

Reno's face donned an expression of disbelief. "You really haven't been on a farm before, have you?"

"Yeah, well… You don't exactly scream country bumpkin yourself, you know. If my mastery at breaking and entering extended to places like this," she waved her free arm in a vague sweep of the area, "then we would have been out of here long ago. As it is, I doubt you have any idea what you're doing."

"I'm not the one who has no idea how to open a shed door."

"You haven't proved that you can yet, Turk."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "I got you out of that bloody rope, didn't I?" He pointed somewhere to the left of the door, squinting his eyes as he recognised the familiarity of the chains. "Mush, poochie," he muttered under his breath, a tiny smirk twisting the corner of his mouth.

Yuffie, who had already started leading him along, stopped. "You did _not_ just tell me to mush."

Reno pressed his lips together and waited for the unspoken threat to be carried out. He had little doubt that he was very soon going to be in deep dooky.

There was a short sigh. "You're lucky you're injured, Turk," came the unamused voice from beside him. "The last thing we need is to get that wound infected with this crap. I've already told you, I'm not dragging your dead carcass home."

Reno smirked. Well if she wasn't going to carry out on the threat then... 

*  *  *  *  *

Five minutes later any amusement Reno felt was gone. He glanced acidly out of the corner of his eye, the effect ruined by the mud and Leviathan-only-knew what else streaked down the side of his face. Yuffie may not have wanted to drop him in the muck, but she certainly had had no qualms about flicking it up at his face in warning.

Reno let his scowl deepen as Yuffie's wide eyes wandered bemusedly over the various equipment in the truck. "… You don't know how to drive a car, do you?"

Even though it was dark, Reno could see the sheepish grin that fluttered across her face. "Uh… no. But how hard can it be, right?"

Reno sucked in a long, slow breath, ignoring his side as it twinged in protest. "How can you _not_ _know_?"

"… Because I never learnt?

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen…"

"And you don't know _how_!"

"I've never had to before! What was I supposed to do? Take a crash course in driving before I left? How was I supposed to know I'd end up following you to hell and back instead of partying to all hours of the night!"

"I thought you hated public transport because it made you sick?" Reno muttered.

"I do!"

"Then wouldn't it make more sense to learn to drive and get your license? You feel a lot better when you're in control of the wheel!"

Yuffie's mouth opened and closed a few times as if she were going to say something, but then thought better of it. She frowned when no words came. 

"Exactly," Reno retorted to her silent glower. "And if you didn't know how to drive, why the _hell_ did you get into the driver's side in the first place?!"

Yuffie blinked. Scowled. "The steering wheel is on the other side in Wutai. I'd forgotten that. I _thought_ I was getting in on the passenger side."

Reno hastily flicked a stray strand of hair out of his eyes and screwed up his face in frustration. Making up his mind, he sat forward, reached for the door handle, and hissed unconsciously in pain when he realised that now he was seated it was going to be a hell of a lot harder to get back up, no matter how uncomfortable the musty, scratchy old ute's seats were.

"Get out," he snapped as he opened the door, "I'm driving."

"Oh, come on," Yuffie replied, equally exasperated. "It can't be that hard, right?"

Reno craned his neck around and gave Yuffie a blatant, meaningful stare, before casting his gaze over the ruddy gearstick, the large, unwieldy wooden steering wheel, and the gas pedal, which seemed to be at least a foot away from coming even close to making contact with her feet. He snickered and resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes.

"Do the terms 'no power steering' or 'manual transmission' mean anything to you?"

"… They would if you gave me a second to figure it out."

Reno sighed, trying to will his frustration at the world to stay under the surface. "You may have never driven before, but this is _not_ the time for a few lessons. We're about to steal this guy's truck for Chrissake, the last thing we want to do is wake him up just because you've no idea how to drive and have smashed the bloody thing into his fuckin' house! We're trying to get away, not get caught, Yuff."

Yuffie had the good grace to look slightly abashed, and she slid out of the oversized seat and around to the passenger side in a second, hovering only slightly as Reno made his own painful way to the driver's side door. He thought he heard the vague mumblings of an apology stir on the wind, but didn't say anything. He could have easily been mistaken.

Reno pulled himself up into the seat without a word, allowing himself a low whistle of relief as the old, but clearly serviceable truck, started with little complaint. Slamming the car into gear, and all too aware of Yuffie watching him out of the corner of his eye, he emphatically put his seatbelt on before releasing the clutch and moving the vehicle slowly out of the shed.

Neither said a word as the large ute slipped out under the cover of darkness and onto the weathered gravel drive, both parties wincing in unison as they heard the many small stones pop and crackle loudly under the weight. Without mishap they crawled to the road, where Reno finally flicked the lights on, and they sped up and at last felt some semblance of progress as tree after tree passed them by.

Silence reigned in the musty cab for a moment, and during that brief time Reno mused over how long it would take Yuffie's curiosity to get the better of her.

It wasn't long in any case.

"So, uh… What's manual trans-thingee-mahoosy?"

*  *  *  *  *

AUTHOR'S NOTES: …. Um, what can I say? Oops? *Winces* *Ducks flying vegetables* *Hides* 

_My apologies to anyone who was actually following this story. I had a severe stage of 'I'm too lazy to get off my ass and write the next part'. Forgive me, I'll start the next part right now. *Nodnod*_

_Until next update!_

_~~Ealinesse. ^_^_


	6. Lune de miel le temps

**Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,**

**By Ealinesse**

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. And a rusty truck that, _apparently,_ Reno and Yuffie don't want any more… Woohoo. ^_^

**Summary:** A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane. 

**Warnings:** Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language.

**Category:** Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Angst, Reno and Yuffie being prats… Nothing too unusual, really.

* * *

* * *

**Chapter Five... **

* * *

The town was close. She could see the lights from the dingy cab, could almost smell the revolting fumes of the industrial factories silhouetted by the unhealthy glow of the streetlights, and as stretch after stretch of god-given road grew out of the darkness before them, Yuffie was sure she could almost taste the sweet goodness of civilization. Leviathan only knew she loved nature – had spent much of her earlier years out in the forests and fields of her homeland – but if she had to deal with another tree anytime soon there was going to be Hell to pay.

For these reasons, it was pretty logical to assume that when the ruddy old ute pulled over onto the edge of the embankment and into a bunch of trees not two kilometers from the town boundary, she wasn't too happy.

From beside her came an audible click, and Yuffie's mouth dropped open as the truck's headlights flickered out. She spun in her seat to face Reno, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness when she realised she couldn't see anything but a vague outline. When that outline moved, and she heard the door to the cab squeak its way open, her confusion got the better of her.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"We." This was accompanied by the slamming of the door.

"What?"

"'Where the hell are _we_ going', is the question you want to ask," Reno said as he picked his way around to her side of the truck and opened the door, indicating for her to get out. "And the answer to that question is Junon."

Yuffie raised her eyes skyward, hopped out of the cab and slammed the door as Reno began walking away. Why couldn't he ever explain something in depth?

"I know _that_," she muttered under her breath as she followed behind Reno as he made his way away from the truck. When she realized this was the case, Yuffie turned around. And stopped. The truck could barely be seen, parked as it was along the forest boundary, and she supposed that was how Reno had intended it. "I _know_ that," she repeated, turning back to the retreating Turk, "but _why_ are we _walking_? We have less than three miles to go before we're there!"

Reno stopped and slowly faced Yuffie. "Do you want to alert the whole town to us being here?"

"No, but-"

"Then do you suggest we drive straight on into that town with _that_ truck? It sounds like a lawnmower. And just what time is it?" Reno waved his arm up at the sky, indicating the sliver of a moon and the blanket of stars flickering in the background. "Don't you think it would be a dead giveaway to anyone looking out for us to see us drive in in that rusty old truck?"

Yuffie pursed her lips. "I guess so," she replied after a moment, humouring Reno's remarks. When he began walking again, she bit her lip to hide a grin as a thought occurred to her. She snickered instead, not quite managing to hide the sound as a light laugh escaped.

Reno stopped instantly and Yuffie sucked at the insides of her cheeks to prevent further sound.

"What, brat?"

"… Nothing," she squeaked out.

"Nothing?" Yuffie could just picture Reno raising an eyebrow at her tone.

"No… well…" she screwed up her face in a futile attempt to disguise her amusement. "You just must have a lot of experience at running to know so damned much about it… Though now I think about it, with the amount of times you fought us and ran off I wouldn't be surprised."

Something akin to a flicker of real anger breezed across Reno's face before he got control of his expression, and it was just a hint of the stress they were both under that his usual laid-back attitude cracked so easily. Yuffie winced, and realized that his moods weren't the only ones changing. Despite their past affiliations, they'd been at each others throats for hours.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Shut up." Yuffie rolled her eyes and began walking in the direction Reno had been headed, ignoring the invisible eyes boring into the back of her skull. She hadn't walked any more than a dozen paces before low rustling sounds came from beside her, and she glanced at Reno out of the corner of her eye. She noted with a strange relief that the few hours driving had done wonders for his side, giving him the brief rest necessary before they continued their journey. The slight compensating limp was still there, as was the obvious stiffness in the movements, and she couldn't help but ignore the apparent exhaustion in his tall frame, but for the moment he was all right.

She turned her gaze to the horizon before her and withheld a small smile, catching the briefest of smirks on Reno's own face - if only for a moment. Perhaps there was an end to this road after all. Beyond the crappy road and ceaseless, oppressive trees…

*  *  *  *  *

Yuffie clenched her jaw and tensed her muscles, taking one deliberate step forward after another. Ignoring the fact that she was now sure she had doubled her own weight in goosebumps, she trudged on, the only thing keeping her going the knowledge that she wasn't the only one suffering the dreaded, icy, howling wind.

She scowled. Okay. So maybe the trees had been _slightly_ oppressive, but perhaps that was because they were actually there to oppress _something_. She cast her eyes heavenward, glaring at the unseen assailant, the movement only making her wrap her arms tighter about herself. Why the hell did the trees have to stop now? What the hell happened, had they run out or something? She snickered at the thought, but any amusement she felt was soon contrasted greatly by the way her ankle unexpectedly rolled out from underneath her. All too soon her axis on what was up and down was lost, and after what seemed like an eternity bouncing her merry way down the remaining segment of the embankment, she was staring unblinkingly up at the sky, wondering what the hell had just happened to cause that.

She lay there for a moment, listening to the wind rushing in her ears, allowing herself to catch her breath. When she felt she could fill her lungs with air and not feel them groan with the effort, she sat up - slowly, mind you - and shook her head as if to clear it. She looked up to see Reno picking his awkward way down the raised portion of the road, slowly but surely. At the bottom, he crouched by her side.

"What the hell did you do!" he exclaimed after finding she was still in one piece.

"What did _I_ do?" Yuffie blinked, her jaw dropping open. After a second she assumed a calm expression, sure she hadn't sustained more than a graze or two. She extended her hand to Reno, who stood and hauled her gingerly to her feet. "What did _I_ do?" she continued when she was standing. "Oh, I did _nothing_. I'm _fine_. In fact, I'm sure it was just my overactive imagination that I fell down that twelve foot-"

"-six foot-"

"-hill!"

There was a short pause during which Reno turned his aqua gaze to her fully. After a moment he cocked his head to the side.

Yuffie narrowed her eyes at the silent scrutiny. "… What?"

"I'm just wondering whether you had antennae before you fell down the hill."

Yuffie blinked. "Are you sure _you're_ not the one that fell and scrambled your brains?"

Reno let out an exasperated sigh and reached behind her. When his arm came back, he had a handful of small twigs.

Seeing this, Yuffie's hands flew to her hair, where she felt several more of the offending objects nesting. "Oh great," she muttered. "More to the effect." She sucked in a breath, feeling her lungs ache at the immense scope of the action, then let it out slowly. "Civilisation," she breathed through barely parted lips. "Civilisation, no Turks, and food…"

Yuffie turned around, reorienting herself toward their goal. There was a soft snort behind her. 

"Food…?"

"_Food_." She reinforced the thought, and took a deliberately slow, halting step forward. She was lucky she managed that. As she put her foot down, Yuffie felt a sharp twinge in her ankle and realised it was going to roll for a second time. Before she could fall though, strong arms grabbed her and held her upright just long enough for her to get her other leg under her. She did so quickly, hearing the sharp hiss of breath from the man behind her.

When Reno released her, she sighed, looking up over the embankment to the small, beckoning lights in the distance. Great. A sprain. Why did it always seem as if something was stopping them from making progress?

"Well, look at it this way. You didn't have a hill to fall down this time."

Yuffie bit the inside of her cheek to hold back the comment, choosing not to respond to his twisted logic. When that action received no merit, she folded her arms across her chest and took a limping step forward. Then another. And another. _Stuff it_, she seethed. She deliberately kept her eyes straight ahead of her, picturing the town's entrance not too far ahead. She ignoring the rise to her right. The bloody hill could wait.

Reno caught up to her again. And again she was aware of the scrutiny, his sharp eyes missing nothing. She ignored him too. She had dug a bullet out of his side, carted him through a forest denser than she had ever seen before, saved his ass from whoever the Hell was after him, and he didn't even have the decency to ask if she was all right. Damn him, anyway. He could damn well shove--

Yuffie yelped in surprise as something – no, wait, someone – made contact with her arm. Her eyes darted to her left, then widened as she saw that Reno had stooped slightly to lift her arm over his shoulder. Her mouth opened in a faint squawk of protest, but he just shook his head and smirked.

"Don't look at me like that. When I said I wanted to get to Junon, I meant sometime in the near future."

"But you're-"

"Enough. You're going to slow us down, and with the way you were bitching about me doing that earlier on, I'd imagine that this is no different. And besides, brat, it's easier this way. Don't talk, just walk."

Yuffie's jaw snapped closed, and all of a sudden she was unsure of what to say. She wasn't going to thank him, that was for certain – he owed her. But even in this situation she'd never imagined he would help. She bit her lip as they took a shuffling few steps forward, Reno adopting her distributed weight awkwardly at first. But eventually they grew used to each other and the pace quickened and evened out.

And he was right. It was easier.

Yuffie focused on the steps, the simple movement helping her to iron out her confusion, and at last she felt a small satisfaction wash over her. Maybe they would reach Junon tonight after all…

*  *  *  *  *

…Or not.

There was a nervous cough to her right and the distinct shuffling of someone who thought themselves seconds away from the biggest hiding of their life. Yuffie ignored that for the moment, however unintentionally. Right now it was hard enough to control her own anger. Right now, she was finding it hard to understand why the sign currently in front of them read the way it did. She squared her jaw and narrowed her eyes against the lights illuminating the large marker, which were both telling her that, no, she had not misread the bold word painted across the massive board.

There came another cough from beside her. "Before you ask, _no_, we're _not_ lost. And we didn't turn the wrong way, either…"

When biting the inside of her cheek didn't work, Yuffie turned toward Reno, who had left her to her own devices for the moment. She tried one of his own tricks and raised her eyebrow. "Well then where are we?" she countered, her voice becoming dangerously low. "And _why does that sign say Trent and not Junon?_"

"Shh!" Reno muttered, looking as if he were going to step forward and clamp a hand over her mouth. "Do you want to wake the whole bloody town up!"

Yuffie scowled. "You want me to answer that, Turk?"

"No, I fucking-well don't, _brat_."

"Fine. But _you_ can answer me this. Where are we, and why the hell is this not Junon?" 

"Because this is the town just before Junon."

Yuffie blinked. "… What."

"When was the last time you went to Junon?"

"Not for about six months, and that was only to visit Reeve."

"Well then do you know about all the small colonies and such that have been placed around the world that are resource-based?"

"Yes. Reeve has been occupied with alternate resources for a while…" she said slowly.

"Well this town is one of those," Reno replied. "Trent is focused mainly on the logging industry, due to the increase in revenue in properties and real estate since what happened to Midgar a few years back."

Yuffie fairly rolled her eyes. "Two guesses why they're into forestry here…"

Reno shrugged. "That answer your question? Can we enter now? I'm sure we can discuss the rest later."

Yuffie didn't answer. Instead, she turned back to face the town entrance, watching as the sight she'd previously seen as large, industrial chimneys and a skyline littered with the oppressive, glowing smog of the city became none other than that of a few wood fires and some lanterns before her very eyes. She swallowed plaintively and slumped her shoulders. This had been a bad few days.

"Is that a yes?"

Yuffie shrugged. "Whatever."

Reno snorted and began walking. "You've been spending too much time around that blonde-haired freak…"

"…"

*  *  *  *  *

They made their way around the outskirts of the town quietly, flitting through the shadows as well as their injuries would allow them. To Reno it almost seemed a parody of a scene, with him hobbling along and Yuffie limping badly beside him, cursing softly under her breath the uneven, dusty surface of the small town. It seemed to take forever to find what he was looking for, and when he did there was a surprised gasp from Yuffie.

"You mean… we can…?"

Reno hushed her with a raised arm and nodded in satisfaction at the open door and the sign out front. "I'll explain later." He looked at his battered watch. 11:30 pm. It was late, and a few hours rest would do them good, it was just an added bonus that the place was still open. With little hesitation he led them inside. Yuffie, wisely stayed silent.

They approached the counter cautiously, while the young man behind it seemed to do the same, his hazel eyes watching them nervously under an exterior of faked calm.

"How can I help you?" 

Reno resisted the urge to smirk. "This is an inn. I would like a room."

The boy eyed them up and down suspiciously, taking in their no less than battered appearances. "I – I'm sorry, sir. But we're full up tonight."

Reno took a step forward and leaned upon the wooden counter, resting his chin on his hand and ignoring the pain the effort to do so caused. He swept his eyes over the wall behind the boy and cocked his head to the side in faint amusement. "The full shelf of keys on the wall say otherwise."

"They're – reserved."

Reno let his feral grin widen enough as to take on that of the Cheshire Cat. "Really. All of them?"

"Y-yes."

"Oh, nonsense. God, man, you're wasting time!" 

Wincing as a light blow came in contact with his head, Reno watched in mild fascination as Yuffie nimbly jumped over the wooden counter, picked a key at random, and then proceeded to poke a bony finger at the worker's chest. 

"I've had a bad day, kid. Don't mess with me!"

"B-but, miss-"

Yuffie leaned into the boy, and Reno caught the flicker of satisfaction that won across her face as the kid flinched away. "Do you know who I am?"

"No, miss, but that's our-"

"Whatever!" Yuffie then climbed back over the counter and faced the boy, allowing a serene smile to play across her face. "We'll take this one."

The boy eyed the key for a moment, his troubled frown deepening. His gaze flickered to Reno, soaking up the torn, bloody shirt, and icy Mako eyes that spoke of a past both troubled and cruel. He then looked at the more-so tattered, somewhat skimpy and shredded getup of the Wutaian girl. After a long moment he sighed, and retrieved a book from under the counter. 

"Just the one night?"

Yuffie's smile widened, and Reno couldn't help but grin. "Yes."

"And what shall I put your name down as?"

"… Bonnie and Clyde."

Reno's grin melted into a smirk.

The pen that had been hovering over the book remained poised in place, unmoving. "But, miss-"

The light caught on a glint of metal and Reno watched in silent amusement as the servant's eyes widened in equally silent recognition of Yuffie's shuriken.

"We're not going to have any trouble, are we?"

The boy shook his head fervently and scribbled down the names with visibly shaking hands. When he was done, he pushed the key across the small counter to them, and offered a quivering smile. "Your key."

Yuffie raised her chin in acknowledgement, swiped the key and pocketed it, then offered a mock salute with a small snigger. "Why thank you," she replied, then leaned over the counter as Reno had done earlier. "Good night…. Rob," she said sweetly, fingering the boy's name tag before turning on her heel and making her way to the small corridor beside him.

Reno hung back for a minute, a puzzled expression warring across his face as he watched her go. He shook his head, then turned an icy glance to the carefully composed gaze of 'Rob', the helpful counter boy. He snickered frostily. "Now, as ol' Bonnie said, there won't be any trouble, will there?" He pulled the gun out of its holding and flicked out the magazine, making a show of checking for bullets. "No surprises in the night. No police. We aren't here to cause trouble. We'll be gone by morning."

Rob again shook his head in the negative, and Reno silently entertained the image of it rattling off its hinge and onto the floor. "Good boy," he muttered, turning to leave. "And just remember, we're not here."

"Y-yes, sir. Good night, sir."

Reno ducked down the hallway without another word and hurried to catch up to Yuffie, who was in the process of limping down the corridor with what looked like a little more hesitation than before.

"… Shouldn't have made that… goddamn leap… over the bloody counter…"

Reno caught the words drifting toward him and controlled his amusement with care. The last thing he wanted was a black eye. He warily jogged the remaining distance to catch up to her. "Found the room yet?"

The curse that followed his words was more audible than the previous streamline. Yuffie turned and faced him with a belatedly furious look. "Does it _look_ like I've found it?"

Reno shrugged. "How the hell am I supposed to know?"

The brunette turned around and began walking away again, muttering. Reno followed, keeping any further comments to himself, and at length they reached a door at the end of the hall.

"One twenty," Reno heard Yuffie murmer. "Of course it would be _the last_ one on the floor."

"… Consequently because you grabbed the last key in that row?"

"Did I ask for your input?" was the icy reply.

Reno smirked. "Remind me never to get between you and sleep again."

There was no reply from Yuffie; she was too busy concentrating on unlocking the door in the dim light. A few frustrated curses and some angry rattling later and the door clicked open. The sight in the room caused Reno to step back, but Yuffie was by no means deterred. He watched with detached, idle amusement as she ran and dived onto the large, overstuffed bed, practically squealing in delight, sore ankle forgotten. He merely stood in the doorway, finding what lay before him hard to believe. Of all the rooms in the inn to pick it had to be this one…

"…Oi, Turk, what's the matter?"

Reno turned his attention to Yuffie, who had sat up and was now eyeing him suspiciously, no doubt wondering why he hadn't taken a single step inside. He frowned, shaking his head. "Do you _know_ what room this is?"

Reno watched as a slow kind of realization dawned upon Yuffie. He grinned, settling his tall frame comfortably against the wall as he prepared to ride out her reaction.

"You mean…" Yuffie's mouth dropped open and a fierce crimson blush swept across her elfish features as her eyes scanned the room, soaking up the somewhat tacky, but unmistakable universal design as if for the first time. She leapt to her feet, overbalanced, pinwheeled her arms, and regained her feet all in the blink of an eye. The next second she was spinning on her heel, pouring over the finer details, embarrassed revelation winning over any astonishment she may have felt as her gaze moved passed the sickly red sheets, vulgar pillows, old-fashioned dimly-lit lamps, and finally up onto a painting above the bed revealing a rather comic depiction of a cherub with a love arrow.

"This can't be… it's not… I didn't mean to choose…"

Reno pushed himself with some effort off the door frame and walked with slow deliberation across the room, projecting an aura of the utmost comfort. He leered at Yuffie as she watched him make his way across the room, and he found himself fighting back the beginnings of uncontrollable laughter as he fell back onto the bed. He didn't think he'd ever seen her quite so embarrassed as she was now. And he was loving it.

"Personally, I think it's a beautiful room, Yuff! The pink and red is gorgeous… and you have to admit… it _is_ awfully… _romantic_," Reno drawled, dragging out the last word in sardonic mockery, indicating he felt the complete opposite. 

And she knew it.

"I-it's a Honeymoon Suite, you moron!"

"Well _I_ think you chose well."

"Shut up! You're not helping!"

Reno suddenly found himself with a face-full chubby comforter as a cherub-shaped pillow smacked him in the face. He pushed the offending item off and sat up with a wince. "What the hell was that for!" He threw the item back and was rewarded with a satisfying yell of frustration.

"Well you started it," he maintained indignantly when she merely glowered, smirking as her blush set a new record for that of the ripest human tomato.

"It's not like I _planned_ to get this room!" Yuffie snapped. "Why would I? You're… you're…"

"A Turk?"

"_Exactly_!"

"Well excuse me if I don't exactly jump for joy at the prospect of you, either."

"Good." 

"Fine."

Reno shrugged, reaching behind him for another pillow as he watched her lift her arm for another throw. What he didn't see, however, was what she held with her other hand. Seconds later she released the pillow, and Reno did the same, only to find the cushion he'd just thrown returning with the surety of a boomerang. He sucked in a sharp breath as it passed within inches of his face, then hit the wall behind him with a solid thud.

Reno blinked. Frowned. Turned to face the wall behind him, only to blink again in faint surprise as he spotted the pillow he'd thrown attached to the wall with none other than Yuffie's own shuriken.

He turned back to her and scowled. "Cheat," he muttered. "You can't even get a pillow fight right."

Her only answer was to curtsey.

Reno ripped the fingers.

He could see she was contemplating her next move when there came a slight cough from behind her. Reno leaned to the side, peering around Yuffie to see who had interrupted their war. Yuffie, not too slow either, spun around as well.

"I – um… _sir_…?"

"Yes, _Rob_?" Reno offered a callous smile and cocked his head to the side – as much recognition as he was going to give the teenager from behind the counter.

The boy took a nervous look around the surroundings, his eyes finding and settling on the sight of Yuffie's weapon lodged into the wall uncomfortably. He visibly gulped, opening his mouth to speak. No sound came.

Yuffie eyed the boy, then her shuriken. She stepped up to him, blocking the sight of the weapon above the headboard of the bed, and forced the boy to hold her eyes. "Yes?"

The boy coughed, looked up at her, then down to the floor, for some reason found his gappy shoes interesting. "Well, I just thought, miss, that I heard some noise. I decided to come and check and see if everything was all right… and-"

"Everything is fine." Reno said quickly, standing up and ignoring the faint dizziness that went with it. He frowned, cursing both his weakness and the fact that he had been stupid enough to allow himself and Yuffie to raise their voices. It was a small town, and the last thing they needed was more trouble. "We don't need any help."

The servant, obviously not wanting to linger any longer, nodded hastily and hurried away.

"And don't annoy us again!" Yuffie yelled after him. Rob's only answer was to power walk faster down the corridor. When he was gone from sight, Yuffie closed the door to the room and sunk down on a heart-shaped couch a few feet away.

"Well, damn."

Reno, sobered by the sudden wake up call the servant had instilled on them, flopped back onto the bed once again and closed his eyes. He was tempted to simply not open them again, not think about anything remotely even to _do_ with his vendetta with Donovan, but…

"So, what do we do now?"

… It just wasn't that simple.

"Reno?"

… Was it?

"Reno!"

Reno's eyes snapped open at the voice coming from straight above him. Yuffie was standing beside the bed, shuriken in hand, expression puzzled. As soon as he looked at her, however, the look changed into something much darker, and he found himself wishing that she weren't holding that God-forsaken weapon of hers.

"God, man, you're such an ass!" Instead yet another pillow greeted his face. "I thought you'd carked it… again."

As Yuffie moved away to sit back down on the seat she'd pirated, Reno sat up, watching her twirl the weapon in her grip. A sudden twinge of pain made him gasp at the movement, and he looked down at his side, his hands going to the wounded area. Gingerly, he touched the wound, gritting his teeth and cursing under his breath as his fingers came away with a light coating of blood.

His cursing must have attracted Yuffie's attention, because the next thing he new she was crouched by his side, running light fingers over the bloody area with a small frown marring her features. He watched, silent and still for a moment as she pulled at the crusted fabric that had stuck to the area, until she struck a particularly sore spot. He swatted her hands away with irritation.

"Leave it alone, will ya!"

Yuffie looked up at him with equal annoyance. "Stop being such a baby. Let me have a look."

"No. You'll make the fucking thing worse."

"Yeah. Right. Because it can _get_ worse than it is right now. Just look at it! You need a Cure Materia before it gets any more infected, it's a wonder you're still able to walk, let alone insult me."

Reno shrugged. "It's the Mako. The same reason we could take as many shots at that Cloud guy as we could and he'd still remain standing." But he didn't deny that he needed a Cure, and it must have shown in his eyes, because Yuffie stood and stepped away from his side, turning around and around in the lavish room as if scavenging for something. He watched as she disappeared off into the small ensuite. Moments later a series of disorganized clanging ensued followed by a dialogue of various curses and obscenities.

Reno merely waited, suddenly not having the energy to do more than sit, wondering how long it had been since he'd last slept. He frowned, comparing it to the last time he'd been in this same situation, then realized he wasn't doing so badly after all. This wasn't nearly as grave as last time. He was still of his own free will, not a prisoner, and with a few hours up his sleeve he… 

"This goddamn bathroom has everything but materia! What is this place! It doesn't even have a First Aid Kit!"

Jolted from his thoughts, Reno looked up at the sight of Yuffie leaning out of the bathroom door, face red, hair disarrayed, expression blatantly annoyed. And then he realized. With her here, and Donovan no doubt scouring the countryside for him, all he had to do was form the wrong attachments to the wrong people, and it would be exactly like last time. Only this time, he had the heir of Wutai riding on it…

He forced his features to relax. They would get out of this. They had to.

He wouldn't screw up.

He wouldn't get close.

Donovan wouldn't win again.

Reno raised an eyebrow at Yuffie and shrugged off his reverie. "In this room, you're not supposed to _need_ a First Aid Kit, Yuff."

The blush he received was worth it, and he watched as the brunette disappeared back into the tiny bathroom to hide it. Expecting to have her mutter something about useless Turks to him, he was, needless to say, surprised when a startled shriek echoed through the room.

Getting slowly to his feet, Reno went to the bathroom, wondering just what had gotten into the quirky Wutaian now. Peering around the corner of the door, he wasn't surprised to see her standing stock-still in front of the mirror, her expression one of deadpan horror as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

He smirked and sidled into the room, stepping up to her side and cocking his head at her own reflection, more than prepared to make some wise-crack comment about her looks. But that was until he caught his own reflection, and stopped dead.

There was no way to explain it, and their appearances shouldn't have remotely surprised him, but looking into the large, wall-sized mirror under the harsh make-up lights of the bathroom reflected no more than the brutal, honest truth. And there was no way about it. They looked horrible. Finding himself caught in the horror of the reality of the situation, Reno rested his hands on the end of the counter and leaned into the ghastly reflection, eyeing the sight before him with disdain. Nearly three long days of dirt coated his skin, and the once-white t-shirt was now a sickly shade of crimson-streaked grey. His skin, coated with equal muck, and plastered with Leviathan-only-knew-what, was just as bad. And pale. From what little that there was left to see, it looked like something had sucked all the colour out of him and left him as but a shadow of himself.

"We look horrible."

Reno glanced at Yuffie through the mirror, feeling for the first time that he was seeing her own haggard appearance; the heavy, dark circles framing her eyes, which stuck out starkly in a too-pale face. She was just as ragged. He noticed the mussed hair, the shredded, minimal clothing that had been sacrificed to stop him from bleeding to death. He vaguely wondered whether there was a person under all that muck.

"Wrong."

Yuffie turned to face the real-time him. "Wrong? _Wrong?_ You're kidding, right?"

"No. We don't just look horrible… We look like hell warmed over."

Yuffie snorted. "Well you got at least that right." She then turned around and surveyed the bathroom. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she caught sight of the bath, watched as a glint of steel came into her eyes.

"What?"

Yuffie barely paid him any attention. Instead of answering she reached over and plugged the bath hole, and then turned on the tap to full. When this was done she turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Right back at you. Now get out."

Reno lifted his arms in silent query. "You're having a bath?"

"What do you think? I've been traipsing around in the wop wops for the past Leviathan-only-knows how long, and I'm covered in mud that has set with the same strength as cement. Of _course_ I'm going to have a bath!"

Reno smirked and turned to leave. "A simple yes would have sufficed, you know."

There was a low growl of frustration, and Reno suddenly found himself propelled out of the small ensuite and into the main bedroom. He spun around to find Yuffie's head peeping around the nearly-closed door.

"And no peeking!"

Reno merely leered suggestively, and found the door slammed in his face, the lock on the door slammed forcibly shut. He smirked. "You know that stupid lock can't keep me out, right?"

There was a mumbled answer in response, and he leaned up against the door in order to hear it better. "What?"

"I said if you even think of coming in here I'll use up all the hot water in the tank, and take as long as I possibly can!"

Reno, suddenly remembering Elena threatening the same thing and carrying it out when he knocked on the door telling her to hurry up, paled. He thought of his reflection in the mirror, and the chill of a cold shower and fell back onto the bed, reveling in the glorious softness of the many plush pillows that littered the bed and spreading out his arms so he took up nearly the entire space. Best to make the most of a horrible situation, he mused idly.

It wasn't long before he fell into an exhausted sleep.

*  *  *  *  *

Author's Notes: Well there you go. Another chapter. I'm feeling generous, and didn't cut the chapter up as much as I was going to. Instead, I gave you a longer one because I'm being very (cruelly) slack with my updates. For that, do I deserve more reviews? ~_^

CHAPTER FOUR RESPONSES:::

_Tijuana Pirate: Thank you so much for your reviews! I guess I can count on you, huh? ~_^ I'm glad you like my Reno – I stress about how badly he is out of character sometimes, and since there's not a lot to go on in the game, sometimes it's hard to judge how he would react in certain situations, so that you think that fully boosts my confidence!_

_Eternal Wanderer: I know what you mean about my review count – I don't get a lot. The fandom isn't exactly dead, and nor is Reffie, but I find it hard to get criticism, especially with these stories. And stealing a truck from a barn? No, I knew I couldn't put it past them…_

_The Burning Misery: Yeah, it is quite angsty in parts. But I'm trying to keep it light right now, but it's hard considering the situation they're in. This chapter is much lighter in correlation to some of the others, so I hope you liked it. ^^_

_Miriel: Well I hope you didn't camp out too long… it's here… and you might want to stay off the sidewalks in case Yuffie _does_ decide to take a drive…_

_Dragon Master Lytore: Yeah. A month and a bit without updating. *Bites foot* … I'm sorry, I really am, but I've started university this year and it's not such a light workload. You're waiting for my bad guys to die? … Wow… They're as hated as I hoped… wicked… and don't worry, their time will come…  ^^_


	7. Bad Luck

**Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,**

**By Ealinesse**

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. And a rusty truck that, _apparently,_ Reno and Yuffie don't want any more… Woohoo.

**Summary:** A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane.

**Warnings:** Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language.

**Category:** Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Angst, Reno and Yuffie being prats… Nothing too unusual, really.

**Chapter Six... **

There is nothing like a nice, hot, relaxing bath to help wash away all the aches, pains and worries one may have. Of course, if one is also covered in a rather unhealthy coating of filth, then that exact relaxing property has the unnerving tendency of going right out the window.

And that was exactly what was happening to her right this minute.

Yuffie watched in disdain as the large volume of tub water she had filled became nothing but a disgusting, ugly brown mass. Looking down at her body that she could now barely see through the muck, she wondered where it had all come from. She knew she had been filthy, and the look in the mirror had only seconded that, but was it actually humanly possible for her, slim as she was, to be that…. grubby? If her father saw her like this he would have had a fit!

Reveling in the comforting warmth for a moment longer, but becoming more grossed out by the second as the tub water only became darker, Yuffie reluctantly got to her feet, ignoring the protesting throb of her ankle as it demanded that she sit back immediately. Watching in a kind of morbid fascination the grime-coloured droplets of water that flowed off her skin and into the bath, she made up her mind for sure. Reaching in and pulling out the plug before her mind could stop her, she watched the water level drop for a second, before turning on the shower to full blast.

She had been unsuccessfully wiping at her dirty skin for a few minutes before she caught sight of the small basket by the sink. Stepping out quickly to avoid any onsetting chill, Yuffie grabbed the entire case of complimentary toiletries, and her shuriken, and then jumped back into the shower and began hastily tearing away at the miniature packets eagerly. It was going to take a lot of those tiny parcels to even get close to doing the job, but damn it, she was going to be clean if it was the last thing she did!

It was just the same as it had always been, but this time his role was again minimized. This time he was nothing but a spectator in the event that he had inadvertently set into motion. He could do nothing but watch as the blade flickered out - once, twice - as a trickle of blood ran down the pale cheeks to drip solemnly onto the dusty warehouse floor. Though it was soon not alone.

He could hear his yell, as he always could, over everything in the room, and time squealed to a stop. He could see the grin; that cold, callous look that had always been there, but had warped somehow, and become something completely different to the one he had used to know. And he could see those eyes. Those clear, unwavering, trusting eyes looking back at him from the steely confine that was his cage. Staring at him. Foolishly trusting him, even as the blood flowed, and the light inside them flickered and died.

And the yell became a scream.

Something was telling him this wasn't real; something entirely intangible and so out of place that he should have been able to put his finger on it immediately. And yet, he couldn't. It wasn't the way that time seemed to slow down, nor the eerie way in which the very air seemed to waver and ripple before his eyes – that in itself told him it was a dream. Though a twisted one at that.

What kind of dream took something from your past and replayed and looped it over and over and over again until it warped and became someone else in the real person's place? What kind of dream held you in the spot, unable to do anything, frozen, unable to help the one person who needed it?

What kind of dream played on your weaknesses? What kind of dream played on your fears? Your hates? Your mistakes…

_… Like a nightmare, isn't it?_

Reno tried again to lift his feet, though unsuccessfully. His body was stiff as a board, all his limbs except his arms immobile, and even those moved too slow to be of any use. He was rooted to the spot, standing not ten metres away from the scene, and yet he felt as if he were watching something through soundproof glass, hopeless to stop it, and hopeless to help. Like a live feed, only delayed, as if on the other side of the world… as it may as well have been.

And all through it, as it played over and over, he saw the laugh, the grin. The eyes.

He closed his eyes and bit his lip to silence the noise, feeling blood trickle into his mouth he was biting that hard, but knowing the pain was nothing compared to _that_…

And then came the other screams. Not his, he would never… But…

He opened his eyes, willing himself to wake up, not wanting to see the body put in the box again. Not wanting to see Donovan with the key. To see that grin warp again into something of smug victory at his defeat.

But it was too late.

The screaming suddenly became more muffled, the lid closed. The truck started and began to drive away, out of the doors of the dark warehouse, and out of sight. And suddenly he could move again, though no matter how fast his drugged body could take him, it wasn't fast enough.

And again Donovan's voice came, as it always did.

_You have six hours. After that… well, I'm sure you don't need to be told…_

_… Partner…_

And no matter what he did, the key that Donovan had promised him wouldn't be found. He was a prisoner again. And he was responsible. And he had lost.

His own trust had betrayed him, and all he could do was think of his own twin scars in shame. The dream rolled on.

Skin so clean she felt it would sparkle.

Yuffie held out her arms in front of her, finally satisfied, and eyed the freshly scrubbed, spotless skin proudly through the spray of the shower. If that wasn't clean, then she didn't know what was. She turned off shower nozzle and winced, realizing that the water had cooled a great deal since she'd hopped in. Not to mention the amount of soap she'd used. She looked down at the selection of various wrappers collected around the plug and shrugged. It had probably been greedy, but it wasn't her fault. She was only female, after all.

Stepping out onto the bath mat whilst toweling her hair, Yuffie leaned over the counter and wiped at the mirror with her free hand, pleased with what she saw. So there had been a human being under all that muck. Now if that cut on her face, her blisters to end all blisters, and sore ankle would go away then she'd be almost happy. As it was, all she had left for clothes were scraps piled in a corner. Hell, her socks were the only item she had in good condition, and she didn't care what Reno would say, she _wasn't_ only wearing _those_.

Eyeing the objects in question with disdain, Yuffie quickly realized something she'd failed to think through properly. Her clothes. What was she supposed to wear now? Scowling at her lack of foresight, Yuffie began to scavenge around the small room, looking through the various cupboards and draws for anything remotely resembling clothes. She was _not_ going to wear those filthy things again.

One, five, even ten minutes of scouring and re-scouring revealed nothing more than the tiny hotel 'complimentary' towels. Curling her lip derisively, Yuffie glowered at the offending clothes in the corner a final time, before securing the towel around her as well as she could, covering as much surface area as the rather limited sheet would allow her, and heading out into the bedroom. There had been a robe in one of the cupboards somewhere, she was sure. That would have to do until she found more clothes, at least.

She was about four steps out of the bathroom when two very odd things struck her. The first was that the room was silent. The second was that Reno… was… well… equally silent. This was far from the derogatory comment she had been expecting.

Yuffie turned to the figure on the bed, extremely self-conscious of her rather limited attire, and warily stepped over to him, paying particular attention to the closed eyes, and fists clenching whole handfuls of bedcover in white knuckled grips. His face was still slightly pale, and he looked like he was asleep, but perhaps that wasn't the case. Was he playing a trick on her, or was there something truly up with him? Looking down at her towel, she took a moment to tuck it around her more securely, then inched toward the bed.

"… Reno?"

The Turk's only answer was to tighten his jaw and clasp the bunched sheets further. Closer now, she could see the deep scowl on his face, the way his eyebrows drew together in an expression not far from hatred. Was it pain?

She crouched next to the bed and reached out a hesitant arm, letting it hover over the still figure for a moment before bringing her hand down onto his shoulder. She shook it lightly, and received no answer. Yuffie frowned, unsure whether to trust the fact that he was really asleep. So she did the only thing she could think of: she shook him harder.

Perhaps it hadn't been the smartest thing to do, and she hadn't thought it through a lot. But the fact remained that she should have realized the reaction this would have; she should know, she'd seen Cid try to shake Cloud awake once, only to see him thrown across the other side of the room before she could so much as blink. She supposed the principal was the same. And she was stupid to have done it.

Perhaps that was why she found herself suddenly propelled across the room and slammed against the wall, her hands held taught above her with just one of his. Before she could so much as draw breath, a gun was placed under her jaw and she was staring into the icy Mako depths of Reno's eyes, both so familiar and so different at the same time.

If she had thought he'd been unfeeling before, then that was nothing compared to now.

"… Reno?" she asked, her voice sounding painfully weak to her own ears. "What are you-"

"_Where_?"

Yuffie shivered at the voice. Of all the tones he'd ever used on her, this was not one of them. "What are-"

"Where is Ashley!"

"Reno, I don't-" Her voice was cut off as the gun pressed to her throat dug in harder, cutting off her air.

"Where have you put Ashley, you bastard!"

But she couldn't talk, could barely breathe, let alone answer. She shook her head, captivated and held paralyzed at the same time by the look of desperation seeping into those eyes. It was so uniquely human, and something she would never have expected to see from him, but it was there nonetheless. And right now it was all focused on her.

Yuffie forced herself to keep her gaze level, and remained perfectly still, all the while aware of the towel wrapped around her threatening to fall if she did so much as draw a deep breath. She knew what this was; after all, it was only after both Tifa and her had subdued Cloud with some powerful Stop and Manipulate materia, that they could pry his hands away from Cid's neck. Whatever nightmare she had woken him up from, he was caught up in it, and he wasn't seeing anything but the horrors within. She desperately needed her materia, or her shuriken, but right now she didn't have anything like that to help her, and he had a bloody gun to her neck.

She opened her mouth again, drew a quick breath, then began to speak, though the gun was pressed tighter. "Reno, it's me… Yuffie. What are you-"

"I'm asking the questions here! I'll give you one more chance, and that's it, so listen carefully before I blow your chances right out the window! Where. Is. Ashley!"

"Reno, _Turkey_," she tried, but there was no recognition in those eyes. And simply because her brain seemed frozen, she muttered, "fuck," under her breath in nervousness. "Fuck, fuck, _fuck_…" She needed a solution, or _something_, because she was beginning to get the idea of who Reno was 'talking to', and she knew that being on the receiving end of this vendetta was not going to be healthy for either of them.

So she didn't answer his question, and held herself still, waiting for the opportunity to present itself, if it ever did. She had no idea how long they'd been standing there, him seemingly habitually trailing the gun coyly along her throat and up behind her ear, but when he leaned into her, actually took a step and squared his shoulders, she knew this was it. If she didn't do something now, then it was going to be too late, one way or the other.

Holding her breath and hoping for the best, Yuffie jerked away with all the strength and speed that she could muster, finding herself with only one option. Not bothering to think of all the colourful names Reno was going to call her when he was properly awake, Yuffie lifted her knee and kicked out with all her weight, aiming directly for the vulnerable spot that had opened up between his legs. Feeling the satisfaction of the connection, she was rewarded with a piercing yell before he fell to his knees, wheezing heavily in pain and clutching his crotch in silent agony.

Before he could get back up Yuffie darted forward, holding the towel with one hand, and grabbing the forgotten gun off the floor beside Reno with the other. That done, she took a wary step back, holding the gun out with hands that were way too steady for the situation, keeping her eyes trained on the man on the ground.

It was a long moment before anything happened, but when Reno looked up at her through flaming red bangs from the floor, she knew then that he'd come back to himself; the cold glare that had made her shudder was gone, and she would never have thought it before, but she was glad to see at least a glimpse of the normal Reno returning. But the eyes that looked up at her were confused, nonetheless.

"What the… Donovon? Ashley… they were…." Reno wheezed out, holding his side with a white knuckled grip.

Yuffie shook her head. "No."

"It was just a-"

"Dream."

Reno straightened, fell back into a crouch, and then forced himself back up onto the bed with a grunt of pain. He was still slightly hunched over, but it looked like he was recovering from the low blow. He snorted ruefully. "Some dream. I could have sworn-"

"That the gun was aimed at your mate Donovan, and not me?"

Reno's eyes, which had been wandering the room, snapped back up to her. In a flash he caught sight of the gun in her hand, and Yuffie thought he must have been fairly out of it for him to have not noticed that straight away. She watched as he felt for the gun, and came up dry.

"That's… mine?"

"What do you think?" Yuffie's eyes flicked over to where she'd been slammed into the wall, and she was vaguely surprised to see a rather solid dint in it from where her back had impacted with the thin wood. She winced. That was going to be sore in the morning.

"I tried to shoot you."

"Yes."

"And so you kicked me in the nuts…?"

There was no sense in denying it. She shrugged, wincing. "… Yes."

Reno rubbed a weary hand over his face. "… Fuck. I'm losing it. Where's a goddamned cigarette when you need one…"

Though the words had been muffled by his hand, Yuffie heard the words Reno had muttered, but came across with the distinct feeling that she hadn't been supposed to. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds where she seemed to struggle with ideas for civil conversation, but she was saved by the bell when Reno made the effort for her.

"So… can I have it back?"

"Your gun?"

"No. My fucking lollypop."

Yuffie squared her gaze with Reno's and raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Yes, brat. My gun. Please."

Lifting the weapon in her hand and clicking the safety back on, Yuffie stared at the weapon appraisingly for a second before holding it out. "Sure you're not going to try and blow my head off again?"

"Trust me, I've had plenty of chances before now. If I was going to shoot you, you'd be dead already."

That certainly didn't make her feel any better, but still relieved to have recognition back in those eyes, she handed the weapon back, watching with careful attention as Reno re-holstered the gun, leaving the safety on. She nodded in satisfaction and lifted a hand up to rub her neck, feeling a slight bump from the pressure with which the weapon had on her throat. She winced. That was also going to be sore in the morning.

"There. Much better."

"You could say that." Yuffie lowered her eyes to the ground, twirling her toe on the plush carpet. She had completed three whole figure-eights before there came a short cough. She looked up, only to find Reno not looking directly at her… but instead at the towel that had somehow remained intact through the whole scuffle. Realising that she'd somehow completely forgotten about her rather limited attire, Yuffie blushed a deep crimson, hurried over to the wardrobe with one once-more cautious hand holding up the towel, and threw open the sliding door, her eyes falling with relief upon the fluffy white dressing gowns hanging inside.

"Oh thank Leviathan…"

There came a snort. "First of all, I don't think Leviathan had anything to do with you walking out here in a skimpy towel. And secondly, is that a _hand towel_ you're wearing…"

Yuffie refused to turn around. Instead, trying to hide the blush from the arrogant Turk no doubt eyeing her with the utmost amusement on the bed, she yanked the robe from the hanger and pulled it on over top of the towel as quickly as she could. Tying it up with jerky, annoyed movements that were really only attempts to expel her own embarrassment, she bit her lip to hold back any smart comments on the tip of her tongue…

Never mind that she had none.

Done, she took a deep breath and turned around, trying her best to ignore the leer being aimed at her. When that didn't work, she shot out one of her iciest glares. "You're an asshole, do you know that?"

The smirk didn't waver. "It's one of the better names I've been called, yes." Yuffie felt the blush return as the eyes that had only seconds ago raked her body, did so again just as suggestively as before.

"Jerk!" She tied another knot on the dressing gown's drawstring.

"Brat."

She curtseyed, and reached into the robe and unfolded the towel, letting it drop to the ground. And just because, she emphatically poked out her tongue. "You won't be so happy when you go to have a shower."

Reno's eyes turned cold, and Yuffie realized that she must have touched upon a sensitive subject. "Why."

Tugging once again on the convenient drawstring, she let a small leer of her own creep onto her face. "Let's just say that their supplies are what you'd call… inadequate."

"Inadequate?"

"… You betcha. Extremely insufficient."

The Turk's eyes narrowed. "What did you do?"

"_I_ didn't do anything but have a shower."

At the reply, Reno stood, and Yuffie watched as he made his way over to the bathroom with cautious steps. Just before the door, he turned back to face her and scowled, realization dawning upon his face.

"You used all the hot water, didn't you?"

Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "Nearly. But that's not what I'm talking about."

"Then what…?"

"You'll see."

But Reno didn't reply, merely threw a dirty look at her and went into the bathroom and closed the door. She waited for the lock to slide closed; it didn't, but she heard the water begin to run. She scowled. Trust him to have such confidence in himself.

With a sigh she closed the distance to the bed and fell back onto the covers, reveling in the soft comfort of the yielding mattress. She closed her eyes, letting out a breath to relax herself, though it just didn't seem to work. Here they were, on the run from Leviathan-only-knew how many men, and they were lounging about in the Honeymoon suite of a hotel. This was, perhaps, the oddest thing she had ever done in such a situation, and the craziest.

But no matter what she couldn't seem to shake the feeling of dread that was beginning to settle in the pit of her stomach. If this Donovan guy had the ability to make one of the coldest, most ruthless men she knew have nightmares enough to influence even their awakening, then just what were they up against?

Holding out a hand to test the water, Reno frowned. It was still warm. And if that were the case, then what was she hinting at?

Doing his best to ignore his scunge-ridden reflection in the rapidly fogging mirror, Reno stepped into the spray of warm water with a shrug. Whatever the hell she had been going on about, he hadn't found it necessary. Her attempt to annoy him had gone astray…

Now if only he could find the soap…

Okay, so now she was more bored than terrified. And she was sick of this dressing gown… she wasn't sure why, but oh Leviathan did it _itch_!

Bending her back at what would normally have been an impossible angle, Yuffie lifted an arm under her and tried to reach the latest irritating spot with little success. This was getting frustrating, and remembering what Reno had said earlier about the town being a major forestry resource, she allowed herself the brief, though somewhat insane, luxury that the bloody robe had thousands of microscopic wood chips inside.

Yeah. Right.

With a low growl of frustration she leapt to her feet and looked around the room with wild eyes. If she didn't get out of this gown soon she was going to scratch and scratch until there was nothing left! Spotting what she thought would do, Yuffie sped over to a doorhandle and crouched against it, finally reaching the itchy area with the somewhat unorthodox method. Smiling in satisfaction, she trundled her way back over to the bed and flopped back down onto it. That was much better.

Well, at least it was until another, much-harder-to-reach itch developed.

That was the final straw. She didn't care that she was wearing only a dressing gown, she was going out to find _something_ else to wear. It would kill time, her boredom, and be efficient too. That way she could get whatever other supplies that they needed before they had to leave again. After all, this _was_ them she was talking about… who knew what lay just around the corner?

Yuffie got up and walked over to the door or the small bathroom, realizing that she had yet to hear any murderous screams from Reno about all the soap she'd used. It took little progressive thought for her to realize that it would be better for him to find that out after she'd left, than while she was still here. She knocked a small rhythm on the door, and was rewarded with a startled yell. She grinned. So she was right in assuming that he had guessed she wouldn't disturb one very naked Turk while he was in the shower.

"… What?" came the muffled voice from behind the wall a few seconds later.

"I'm going out," she replied. "I'm not staying in this dressing gown any longer than I have to… it _itches_!"

"… It what?"

"It itches!"

"… Not up to the standard you're used to, princess? I doubt you'll find any better in this town," was the next mocking reply.

Yuffie screwed up her fists. "Shut up, Turk."

There was a snort, but no further reply. No comment about the soap. Yuffie raised an eyebrow and leaned against the door. "You want anything while I'm gone?"

"You said you're getting clothes?"

"For me, yes."

"Well get me some while you're at it, mine are a little shredded to pieces for some odd reason."

Yuffie smirked. "Says the man who tried to shoot me a short while ago."

"… You're still alive, aren't you?"

"Through no fault of your own."

The only sound that answered was the steady stream of water on the other side of the wall. Yuffie winced. She hadn't intended to let that slip out. "So you want clothes?"

"That's what I said."

"And you'll need a Cure Materia, as well, then."

"How about a million dollars while you're at it? Oh, and a pony!"

Yuffie blinked. "What are you implying, Reno?"

"I don't think you realize that these people, simpleton hicks that they are, are still going to realize that something is up when a stranger comes into town and holds the hotel clerk up with a Wutaian weapon just to get a room. Did I mention the part where you plan to walk around town in a dressing gown? What about the matter of payment? In case you haven't noticed, the reason we held up poor ol' Rob is because we _have_ no cash, but a measly thirty Gil in coins!"

Yuffie gritted her teeth at the sardonic tone in Reno's voice. "Are you quite done?"

"Not if you're not. How do you plan on getting all these things if you're going to _buy_ them?"

Yuffie sighed and banged her head lightly against the door. "You know, Turk, for someone who has spent a lot of his life living in the scum of society, you'd think you'd have some idea about alternate means of acquiring what you need."

"You mean stealing."

"Something like that, yes."

The sound of laughter rang out behind the door. "Why am I not surprised?"

"… Because I've managed to steal stuff off you before?"

"No comment. But wouldn't it be better to wait for me?"

"What, and have two randoms walking around in dressing gowns? No way, you'd just slow me down, and you've only just got into the shower. I am _not_ sticking around waiting for you in this… stupid… _thing_!"

Reno snorted. "Fine. Just don't get yourself caught, shot, or killed. I have the feeling I'd get blamed if a random hick ripped out a shotgun on you."

"Probably," Yuffie smirked. "But I won't get caught."

"All right, then. Be back in an hour and a half. If I hear alarms, voices, or gunshots, I'm hauling ass."

Yuffie shook her head at the sheer amusement in the voice. "You'd leave me behind?"

"It _is_ mighty tempting, I must admit."

"Pfft, fine. I'll leave you to your shower."

"Good."

Yuffie pushed herself off the door and retrieved her shuriken from where she'd put it on the side table, then headed toward the exit. "Just don't use all the soap!" she retorted as she left.

The somewhat belated yell of fury that reverberated through the walls and into the corridor she was occupying, she decided, was well worth the crazy look from Rob as she hurried passed.

Well this was certainly just great. The shower was going cold, and so far no more than a third of the dirt had been scrubbed off because _someone_, who would be but a nameless carcass when he'd finished with her, had used all of the damned soap. Well, all of it except for the solemn sliver of the stuff that had been left by the drain, and a fat lot of use that had been for the time it had lasted. Never mind the dirt in his hair, or the fact that his wound was still dirty. Although soap would do little good for everything that had been done to _that_ in the passed couple of days…

As he scrubbed away at the offending muck, Reno allowed his thoughts to wander to Rude and Elena. He had no evidence that they'd been caught by Donovan, and though some of their equipment had been left behind, he had no idea where they were. The locaters they'd each been given were only use to those of them who were actually in Junon, the idea behind this being supposed motivation for them to get to their safehouse as soon as possible. The GPS on which the locaters were based were little use until then, where, once safe, a comrade could find the location of the other, and track or assist them, if need be. Apparently this was easier for everyone – mainly the higher-ups, Reno surmised. But it was certainly not making it easier on his nerves.

As time moved on, and they neared closer and closer to Junon, Reno found himself growing more… anxious? He shook his head in silent rebuttal. No, this time he was worried; could allow himself to be worried. These were his partners. What if he got to the safehouse and they simply weren't there? What then? He refused to think of it. They would be there.

Donovan wouldn't win again.

Reno clenched his hands into fists for a second until even the short nails on his hands dug small half-moons into the palms of his hands. He didn't like the direction his thoughts were heading in, and at this rate he was going to end up thinking of the dream, something he couldn't afford. He had already been acting strange for the past two days – the last thing he needed was another reason to snap. Perhaps it was best to not think at all; not to worry about Elena, or Rude…

Or Yuffie.

… Had it been right to let her go out alone? It sounded like Yuffie had convinced the others to turn back after they'd found her and only her in the woods, but it still didn't mean that he didn't have scouts here too, or Donovan himself. If she got caught, or worse, how would he know? How would he…

"Goddamn it, I'm acting like Elena!" Reno's fist shot out and hit the shower door with all the force he could manage in the short distance, and too late did he realise that the surface he was aiming for was glass. Thin, cheap glass.

With the high-pitched jingling that could only be that of shattering glass, Reno felt his hand hit, then plough straight-on through the falling shards. Small flares of pain broke out down his arm, and he gasped, jerking his hand back and tilting his body backward so the small remains wouldn't cut him. The eerie tinkle continued for a few seconds more as the final cascades of glass landed on the ground, shimmering as they scattered across the tiled floor for a moment before all fell still.

Reno let out a breath, holding himself motionless for a few seconds as what he'd done caught up to him, as did a faint resonating sting in his hand. With a halfhearted sigh he shrugged, grabbed the towel he'd acquired earlier and wrapped it around his waist, grateful that he'd placed it up high out of reach of the glass. Carefully he picked his way out of the room, avoiding any glass he could see, and swiping up whatever clothing that looked salvageable, though the accursed boots were about it.

With a disgruntled curse Reno walked over to the bed and flopped back down onto it, closing his eyes; the bloody water _had_ been getting cold anyway.

This was the most fun she'd had since she'd stolen all that materia from Cloud and company. With an impish grin, Yuffie leapt out of yet another window, consequently another unsuspecting shop, and looked down at the accumulated pile in her hands. The first thing to get had been clothes, and though the range of stuff hadn't been that good, she'd just swiped the first reasonably acceptable thing she'd seen; some trackies, a singlet top, and some - thankfully - warm, comfortable boots. Upon second thought she'd also added a zip-up sports hoodie to the mix; it had been freezing outside, and though she didn't usually feel the cold that much, she wasn't going to try and push her limits... again.

Reno, on the other hand, had been much harder to buy for, but when she'd found it... Yuffie looked down at the bundle tucked under her arm and smirked. A shirt, pants and jacket much like he was used to, all for free. She hoped it was what he wanted, and had also nabbed a long coat in case the suit jacket wasn't warm enough. Like he'd appreciate her concern.

Next to come had been the materia, as well as the food. Initially, she'd gone in just to find a Cure, but seconds later decided to grab a Heal, and a few antidotes. If there was one thing she'd learned while with Reno, then it was to expect the unexpected. As she'd leapt out of the window, a food store had caught her eye, and now...

Well, her and Reno were never going to be hungry again.

Now all she needed was a bag to put it all in. Readjusting all her newly acquire belongings, Yuffie hugged the walls of the buildings, staying in the shadows as best she could. No one had seen her yet; hell, she hadn't even seen anybody out, but then going by what Reno had said no one _would_ be out this late here anyway. Looking around, she spotted a small shop hidden behind one of the others that she hadn't noticed before. There was one small sign, and a few small windows she could squeeze into if need be, so she decided to go and check it out. Crossing the street in silence, she slid back into the inky shadows and approached the small building.

Pressing herself against the wall Yuffie levelled herself onto her tippy-toes and peered into the window, noting that the case was the same; the lights were off, and she was pretty sure nobody was home. Fiddling with the rather primitive lock on the windows with her shuriken, she did the same as she had with all the others, and lifted herself inside, leaving the items she'd acquired outside to deal with when she'd found what she'd needed; there was little point in hindering whatever progress she'd made, not to mention to run the risk of getting herself caught.

Lowering herself into the tiny shop, she allowed her eyes to adjust for the suddenly moonless scene, then took a quick look around, realising she'd just stepped into yet another grocery shop. She muttered a muffled curse at her wasted effort, then realised that they were bound to store bags or shopping baskets somewhere. After a quick search she realised she was in luck and let out a tiny crow of triumph at her find. Hauling the oversized bag off the shelf and over her shoulder, she was about to leave when she caught sight of the cigarette rack in the corner. Reno had said he'd wanted one, hadn't he?

Walking quickly across to the shelf storing the various packets, Yuffie found herself overwhelmed with choice. Not being a smoker herself, she found it hard to understand that people could actually choose the flavour or brand that would in the end give them lung cancer, but with a shrug she swiped a few. Reno could decide which ones he wanted when she got back. Stuffing her hands into her regretfully small pockets, Yuffie took a final look around, not finding anything else that she wanted within the store. Turning on her heel with a little skip, Yuffie began to walk over to the window again when a noise from behind her made her freeze.

She stood utterly still for a few seconds, but the noise didn't come again. Convincing herself that she was just getting herself creeped out by Reno's warnings, she walked over to the window again and chucked the things she'd commandeered outside. When the reassuring thunk of them hitting the ground followed a moment later, Yuffie stepped up to the table just under the window and reached through with a small grunt...

"What was that?"

... and realised instantly this time, that this time the noise was very real.

Yuffie's eyes widened as she squirmed hurriedly outside and landed with a dull thud on the ground. Muffling a groan and sitting up, she packed all the things quietly into the bag, and froze when the voices spoke again.

"Did you hear that?"

"Was someone in here?"

As silently as she could, Yuffie turned and faced the side window of the building she'd just climbed out of and levered herself to her feet, bag in hand. Ready to bolt, she was stopped from doing so as a light turned on inside the shop she'd just been inside, and she winced, realising that the window she'd climbed out of had been left open...

And it opened inward.

_Shit!_ she thought, quickly scouting out a fast exit. _Where did those voices come from? There wasn't even a door in the shop for another room! _Finding some suitable shadows, she was about to sneak away...

"Well find out what it was! The last thing we want is to be caught in here by a theif!"

... until she heard that last voice.

Yuffie felt her breath hitch in her throat, and her heart begin to pound heavily in her chest. Was that who she thought it was? Did she dare peek into that window and see? But before she could even stop herself, her hands were curling around the small windowsill outside, and she was peering up again into the window - and then ducking again as the sight confirmed it. She felt her blood run cold as morbid realization became dead-straight fact, and even though she'd only seen him for a second in that alleyway in Midgar, and knew the strange impossibility that it was, she knew who it was...

... That same taunting, cold voice, and those eyes she'd seen for but a split second as she'd knocked him out... Like Reno's...

And he was _here. _And they'd thought they were safe! How foolish...

Yuffie felt her thoughts racing. What should she do? Run? Find Reno? Or would it be best to stay and find out how much this Donovan knew? And just as she thought of this, the event of Reno's dream came back to her, and she found herself staying rooted to the spot, out of sight, regardless. She wanted to know what was going on, and Reno certainly wasn't telling her. Perhaps if she moved away a little then she could get some information. She always had been good at remaining hidden, and she'd fooled this man by hiding in the shadows once before.

So she did just that, ducking back into the deepest, darkest shadow she could find that would still allow her to hear, bag still in hand. And as the voices filtered out, she found herself wishing she hadn't. Perhaps getting as far away as she could would have been a much better idea...

"Any sign of him here?"

"None, sir."

"Nothing at all."

"And you've checked the whole town?"

There was a short silence.

"Jackson? Maxwell? I asked you two a question, and I expect an answer!" Was that the cock of a gun she heard? Somehow she didn't find it too hard to believe...

"We've checked nearly all of it. There's a couple of buildings left, but no one seems to have seen any sign of them..."

"And your searches have agreed with that?"

"Yes. We've found no sign of him or the girl so far."

Again, a short pause that was uncomfortable even to her ears.

"Well what are you waiting for! Dobson and Vaughan haven't found anything back in Midgar, and they've scoured the place faster than you've searched this town! The shop owner in this place didn't know anything, and now it's time to move on! So get out there and _search before I blow a hole in your heads_! Reno is to be found, and preferably taken alive. But if not... then it is just one more hassle I don't need. Now _go_! And check out that noise while you're at it!"

The corresponding sound accompanying Donovan's talk was a small scuffle and the sound of the front door to the building opening. Cold dread pooled in the bottom of her gut, turning into solid, churning concrete as she realised for the second time in the passed five minutes that she should have ran while she still had the chance. Footsteps began to echo along the outside, heading straight for her. She paled, slipping back into the shadows, but inadvertently knowing she'd cornered herself. There was nowhere to go... and if she was noticed, then who was going to warn Reno? He may be just an arrogant Turk, but he was right about some things. She should have listened - though like she was ever going to tell him that!

Now that she ran the likeliness of getting caught under these tables that were oh-so unfair, she knew that she was _so _screwed...

_Author's Notes: Well, for some reason or another (procrastination on school work) I've managed to get this chapter out a lot sooner than the other one. Not sure why, but I must say, although there is still a fair bit of time between the last update, I'm rather proud of myself. Now all I have to do is get the next few chapters out and I'll be sweet, what d'you all think? _

_Tijuana Pirate: Well it didn't quite take me so long this time, so what did you say this time when the author alert came? Something along the lines of 'OMG, two in a month?!' I've had a lull in homework... well, not really - more like a lot of very-far-away-due-dates - so it's allowing me to write a little bit more. Hope you liked! _

_magnum opus: Wow... hello! Yeah, I'm writing a sequel... shakes head ... lookout world, I'm on fire. Lol! Hopefully the next one will be out just as soon as this one. You see, there may be a sequel, but the chapters seem to be very, uh... infrequent. winces_

_The Burning Misery: 'Bonnie The Amazing Pouting Ninja Girl'? Oh nice, and very fitting! She does seem to do a fair bit of it, doesn't she? But then again, when stuck with Reno, who seems to enjoy all kinds of verbal torture, who wouldn't? _

_Eternal Wanderer: Well this chapter is a lot quicker in the update, so are you still going to have to re-read Word of Mouth? Perhaps if I keep updating so fast you mightn't have to... On another note, yes, the character development is coming very shortly, and as for their feelings for each other... well, just tell me what you think when I come to that part in the story? And yeah, I think this fandom is horrible for getting reviews... nodnod_

_Anonymous #151564: Update away! _

_motoko: Lol... yeah, the honeymoon scene was just too tempting to resist. Reno and Yuffie in that situation = very amusing. Hope you enjoyed it!_


	8. Who Needs Sleep Anyway?

**Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,**

**By Ealinesse**

****

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. And a rusty truck that, _apparently,_ Reno and Yuffie don't want any more… Woohoo.

**Summary:** A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane.

**Warnings:** Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language, a little Violence.

**Category:** Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Angst, Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie Arguing… Nothing too unusual, really.

**Chapter Seven... Who Needs Sleep Anyway?**

_I am so screwed. Screw-ed… Screwed! Oh, shit…shit, shit… Don't turn around here. No! I mean it… Shit! Shit, shit shit…_

Yuffie allowed her mental chant to run rampant in her mind as she watched with horrified eyes the two men rounding the corner where she was hiding. The area around the open window that she hadn't been fast enough to close of course would be the first thing to be searched, and since she was only a short ways off the street it was entirely possible that she was going to be seen upon first glance, shadows or not. Hell, it was a great deal more than just 'possible'.

She had to move, and she had to move now, otherwise she would be between a rock and an impossible place; freedom. The only answer was pointing her in the face. She dropped the bag of junk from her grip and with a surge of will, Yuffie readied her shuriken and held it back, prepared to strike. As the first thug rounded the corner and recognized the glint of metal basking in the shadows for what it was, his eyes widened and his gun raised. But it was already too late for him; with a cold smirk that she reserved for those too stupid to have faster reflexes, she flicked her wrist and let loose the star-shaped weapon. A second later the man slumped to the ground, clutching his hands to his throat in a last desperate attempt to dislodge the weapon that had embedded itself there.

Sparing the falling imbecile a final glance, Yuffie moved onto the second man who had just appeared. The smirk that had plastered her face only seconds ago now mirrored his perfectly, and imperfect teeth glimmered a pasty yellow in the faint moonlight.

"Ya don't think I'm going to go down just that easily, do ya, love? Especially now that you're without that purty weapon of yours," he drawled callously, his rusty voice penetrating the silence with the painstaking ease of fingernails raking down a chalkboard.

Yuffie merely took another step forward, keeping one eye on his two, and the other on the gun he was trying to sneak out of the holster in his jacket. "I don't know, _love_," she retorted, fingering the two throwing stars she always had on her that were now strapped to the back waistband of her pants. "_Are you_?"

The man leered and lunged forward, spinning sideways as if that were going to save him from something. Yuffie shrugged as he flipped out the gun, and hurriedly did a roll of her own, after which they somehow both ended up standing directly in front of each other. Though the little use that had done for him. She looked down at the small throwing star that had knocked the gun out of the man's hand before he'd had the chance to so much as pull the trigger, then to the one that had been embedded with equal succession into his throat.

With a snort of disgust, Yuffie watched the man's eyes grow dim even as his words of would-be protest came out in no more than an incessant gurgle. Her smirk deepening, Yuffie grimly plucked the soiled stars from their various locations and rolled her eyes. "Yep," she muttered under her breath. "I'd say you did go down just as easily."

She had just turned around to retrieve her shuriken when a loud bang echoed through the streets, accompanied by a burning sting that ran the length of her cheek before dissipating slightly. Yuffie allowed herself the quickest of glances through the window that had just been fired through, and had it not been for the imposing danger of a not-so badly aimed second gunshot, she would have allowed herself to rip the fingers. As it was, though, the shot was nowhere near as fatal as it could have been, and she didn't doubt for a second that it had been unintentional.

Her fingers traced her cheekbone, feeling the now slightly widened gash in the previous cut's place; a reminder of who was in charge, her thoughts spun out amiably.

With a snarl of contempt, Yuffie sprinted out of the inky shadows of the side lot, forgotten bag now in hand, and into the next ones she could find, all the while listening to the sound of gunshots ringing after her. Reaching a dead end – a tall, imposing fence that no doubt led to the endless trees beyond - Yuffie slowed and whipped her head around frantically. _Curse small towns, _she thought desperately, knowing that there was no way she was going out into the forest alone – at least, not without warning Reno first.

Spotting a ladder in the distance, Yuffie couldn't help but be reminded of the event three – four? five? – nights ago when she'd first encountered Reno again. Hugging the building and eyeing up the ladder across the other side of the street, Yuffie made the mad dash before she could hesitate, and darted over to the ladder with all the speed that had been given to her – and then some. Grabbing the rungs and climbing them with equal haste, Yuffie only allowed herself the barest of glimpses in the direction of the man with the gun before scurrying out over the low rooftop and away into the night.

And just from that one glance she understood; just one fleeting look into those soulless, cold, unrelenting eyes allowed her to comprehend the reason why this man haunted even Reno's sleeping moments.

He wasn't going to give up until one of them was dead and gone, and from the looks of things, this guy seriously doubted it was going to be him.

Reno clasped the metal bars appearing in front of him with a white-knuckled grip, knowing without actually being able to feel the icy cool that separated him from the rest of the world where he was; _when_ he was. Why his mind had decided to dredge it up now, though, was another story. He'd never dreamt of this part before, not that it had been any less horrible by any means…

Footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, and the guard posted outside his room jerked to attention. Reno scowled. After the initial beating, he'd had to endure a series of insults brought upon by the fool. That coupled with the fact that his favourite set of lock picks – not to mention nightstick - had been snatched by the bastard, had put him in a sour mood. Sure, the beating had hurt like all hell, but the series of Mako injections he'd received before this had allowed him to recover to a bearable level fairly quickly. And since there had been no major harm done, there had been little need to worry. But that snot had actually _stolen_ his weapons, and in the moments before he'd blacked out the first time he'd heard the guy call imminent shotgun on them.

That was when he decided; that asshole was dying second. Just as soon as he found Donovan and rung his neck for what he'd done.

The steps grew closer, the sound of familiar steel-capped boots began to echo louder in the dingy chamber. Reno looked up and cooled off his expression as he spotted the three men heading toward him. He had eyes for only one.

"I trust you're well rested, Reno?"

Letting go of the bars, Reno pulled his aching body to his feet, not allowing Donovan the satisfaction of seeing him in pain. "Never been better."

Reno saw the all-too familiar glint of amusement enter Donovan's eyes at his words as he unlocked and entered the cell, the two brutes entering before him. "I'm glad. We need you at your full… aptitude… if we're going to see if this works."

"Aptitude? Why, Donovan, _partner_. I see you've learnt a new word."

"Shut up fool!"

Reno's head snapped backward as a vicious right hook caught him in the temple – the same spot that had been hit with the butt of a rifle earlier - and he fell back into the arms of the other nameless traitor. Stars began to dance a crazy little jig in front of his eyes, and when his vision cleared he reserved a patented glare for the man that had just punched him. "You're third," he growled.

Donovan, who had up until then been standing behind the two, took a curt step forward. "Enough! Don't damage him, we need to see if this works!"

"Didn't know you cared, buddy," Reno spat, his dulled eyes lifting and meeting ones identical to his own.

"I don't," Donovan responded slowly, raising a callous eyebrow in an expression that Reno knew him all too well for. "I'd just rather try this on you, if I could – since you're already classed as MIA, after all. And of course, with your tolerances built up because of Mako treatments, we'll see just how successful this will be on not only Turks, but SOLDIER as well."

Reno felt his arms suddenly restrained by the two large men that had accompanied Donovan. He almost laughed at the stupidity of it all. Not two days ago he'd been beaten to within an inch of his life. On top of that, he'd been deprived of food and water for twice that time, and was really beginning to see the end of his patience. And while he felt that he couldn't have even beaten one of them right now, let alone two, he they still seemed to think otherwise.

But then again, he mused, ever since he'd pulled that trick with the handcuffs, he doubted they were going to use something so simple as that on him again.

"Where do you want him?" snorted the man on his left.

"Just there'll do. He won't put up much of a struggle. If he was going to kill you, he'd have done it already. He's too tired, and a little more roughed up that he's willing to admit. Relax, he is just a man after all. Right, _partner_?"

_Just a man…_

Those words echoed in his mind; played slower, faster, taunted him over and over again. It was what Donovan had said when _he'_d found the bastard out, when _he'd_ been brought in and captured by his own partner… when he hadn't even seen it coming…

Reno looked up, and scowled. "Asshole."

"I know. Now stay still," Donovan said negligently, as he opened a suitcase that Reno hadn't noticed until then. With an expression of schooled calm and the utmost patience, Reno watched as the case was opened, and a series of small vials were retrieved. But it wasn't that which worried him. No sir. It was the last thing that was removed that he was concerned about.

In his moment of distraction, Reno realized, his eyes must have widened fractionally, for as his ex-partner turned around, spinning the gleaming, wicked-looking knife in his grip, the cynical, grievous smile returned to his face.

"Oh, don't worry, _partner_," Donovan drawled, picking up a small vial he'd set out on the table and injecting the contents into a small apparatus attached to the hilt of the knife. "This won't hurt. _Much_."

And then there was nothing but burning, torturous pain as the knifed flicked out in the blink of an eye, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. _Nothing._

Her lungs were burning, she was sure of that. Yuffie gasped for breath, running as fast as her agile legs could carry her, only hoping that this round-about way over the rooftops and through infinite shadows would eventually lead her back to Reno – and away from that man. She suppressed a shiver, mentally trying to block out the view of those icy eyes, so similar and yet so different from the Turk she was now so urgently trying to get back to.

Darting around another corner, the sound of gunshots long-faded, Yuffie spotted the sign for the inn that they'd previously stayed at, knowing it would only be a matter of time before they were found. She took a quick glance around, not seeing anything threatening in her immediate area, and sprinted inside, not bothering to pay any attention to the bumbling boy behind the counter. Things had to be bad when the man after you so desperately had confidence enough to _walk_ while he was hunting them down.

… Were they really in a hole that deep? This time, she did shudder.

She sped down the hallway, the bag slung over her shoulder bouncing painfully against her back as the objects inside rattled around with all the kindness of a caged rattlesnake. Once at the end, she slammed open the room's door, withholding her surprise that it wasn't locked, and struggled in through the narrow doorway with the sack of gear. Inside now, Yuffie dumped the bag to the ground, closed the door, proceeded to lean against it, and concentrated just for a second on teaching herself how to breathe again.

But that all changed when she caught sight of Reno.

Forcing her mind to work around the obstacle of a towel-clothed, half-naked Turk, Yuffie gathered her thoughts and made herself focus on the more important things. Like the fact that Reno was asleep. Again. And it looked like he was dreaming. Again. Yuffie's eyes widened as a low growl of something that sounded like pain emitted from the Turk's barely parted lips, and she hurried over to the bed, hoping that it was in fact just another dream, and not something slightly more serious – like the wound to his side. But then again… just a dream? She frowned, knowing that was hardly the case, and searched around, relieved to find the gun on the side table and not in his immediate possession. She grabbed it, and pocketed it.

Not wanting to touch him in case a repeat of last time happened anyway, Yuffie picked up a spare pillow from the bed and walked over to somewhere she could run from more easily – like by the door. With a quick intake of breath, she aimed the rather unorthodox weapon, and biffed it at the dreaming Turk. With a dull thud reminiscent of the pillow fight they'd had earlier, it bounced off Reno's face and slid to the floor.

Reno's only reaction was to mumble something under his breath, and clutch at the scars on his cheeks with more fervency and desperation.

With a resolute sigh, Yuffie leaned back against the door, apprehension gripping her hard and threatening to tear her to pieces. They didn't have time for this. Torn between a growing worry for the injured man on the bed, and the fear of being caught, she began looking around the room for ideas, but too soon realized that she was out of them. Slamming the door before hadn't woken him up, and besides, making any more noise would just attract unwanted attention.

_Damn it!_ she thought. _Reno, why do you have to be so fucking difficult!_

She stood there for another two seconds, unsure of what to do. It was but another three before she realized that there was nothing for it – she was just going to have to take her chances, and _if_ later on Reno woke up and realized that he'd snapped her neck or something equally stupid… well… then at least she would have to deal with the wrath of her father.

Making it over to the bed in five quick strides, Yuffie blew a stray, frustrating strand of hair out of her eyes and looked down at Reno, trying not to notice the distressed, painful, tormented expression on his face. Looking back at the door, she clenched and unclenched her fists, bit her lip, then took another deep breath – for all the bloody good they were doing her. With nothing more to distract her, she reached out a suddenly shaking hand, and gripped Reno's shoulder lightly, hoping like hell that she didn't get splattered against the wall again.

It was happening again, he realized. He was losing control, and now he was going to get someone else hurt because of it. Again.

Reno rolled onto his side, knowing it wouldn't do him any good anyway. This wavering, half-consciousness that Donovan had induced wasn't amounting to anything. But then again, that was the point, wasn't it? This was just a reminder that he _wou_ld amount to nothing in the end, and this was just the start; that despite his dreams and aspirations for one day making it past the usual ranks, breaking away from the middle of the crowd - to be _something_ - that he never was.

He should have known then, when Donovan and himself had had that conversation years ago, that the other man's pride and need for control even when in the slums had been overwhelming. But now… now it was hopeless. What were you supposed to do when your partner – your _friend_ – turned against you - and everyone - and you were the first one chosen to fall? Should he have known?

_… You're only human, after all…_

Reno groaned, the voice echoing in his head taunting him for his failure, reminding him of just how blind he'd been. He rolled onto his other side in the dingy cell, feeling the filth embedded into his navy suit grow deeper and sink in even further. With the slight movement, of course, came the pain, as one of the cuts on his cheeks grazed the icy ground. He gasped, feeling the burning return, and knowing that it was only a matter of time before Donovan came back with his knife, and that drug…

And it was like this he lay there, until the man did eventually again return, with his vial, and with his knife, assuring him that it would all be over soon, and that if one day things _did_ work out as Donovan had planned, then he, Reno, would have a place at his side. But he knew, that it wouldn't be over… not until he'd managed to escape, to warn the others at Shinra just what was going on… that he wasn't missing with Donovan, and that the mission that had supposedly gone awry had all been a jack-up…

But who was he kidding? There was no hope in hell of him getting out of here without consequence… he knew it even as he watched it play over in his mind, trapped inside his own body with another consciousness that had no idea what was going to happen. But _he_ knew… knew that he couldn't stop what was going to unfold. Couldn't stop himself from seeing his chance to escape when at last he was given food, and at last he was given the opportunity to allow himself to _think_ that it was going to be easy.

And so it was with dread he allowed himself to be deceived, and when at last that _other_ person came along with the food, and with the smile that reeked of freedom, his other self saw the chance to get out; to warn the others, without thinking of what would happen to the person on the middle ground if he was caught. But _he_ knew, and saw only death. And so when that hand landed on his shoulder, the pain didn't lesson, but returned tenfold, as it was unfolding exactly as he remembered it, and he had no desire to see it happen all over again…

Yuffie's muscles relaxed slowly – not in relief, but defeat. With a slow shake of her head she offered one more shake of his shoulder, not expecting a reaction, as none had been issued prior to this. However, once again, it proved that her expectations were not to be trusted, and all manner of tenseness returned to her frame as Reno _finally_ outwardly reacted…

Though not as she'd thought again, either.

For what must have been a full minute Yuffie stood three, watching the ice blue eyes that had just opened, hoping that last shake of hers had rattled more than just Reno's eyesight back into the waking world. What she hadn't thought to hope _agains_t, however, was that his voice would return before his common sense, and Yuffie could only stare on in abject horror as the Turk's hands, before tightly embedded in the tangled sheets of the bed, flew to his face and clutched at the twins scars located there as a scream so inhuman as she would never think to expect from him tore through the night air. And the scream held a name.

Yuffie felt all the blood drain from her face, and in her moment of shock she recoiled her hand and her body from the bed, stepping back and watching Reno's again badly-timed reaction to her attempts to wake him. Soon enough, though, she realized that she couldn't let him go on like this any longer. Trent was a quiet town, and as far as she'd seen her and Donovan's goons were the only ones that had been out and about. A violent, piercing scream shattering the illusion of peace in the town was not going to help either the sleeping citizens, or their current situation.

With a desperation that stopped her from thinking of her own failing credibility, Yuffie bit her lip to keep from yelling the various obscenities that wanted to escape, and scrambled onto the bed, trying to fight away Reno's own frantic hands from his face so she could clamp her hands over his mouth long enough to shut him up. But even in the hold of a dream he was strong, and several times she found herself ass-up on the floor before she finally managed to keep his hands away long enough to achieve her objective. The muffled yell, previously amplified by the large room and corridor just beyond, gradually faded out, and Yuffie gradually watched as some semblance of recognition faded back into his eyes.

Not bothering to remove her hands from his face, she cocked her head to the side and let out a weary sigh. "You finished yelling yet, or do you want to continue calling that man to us?" she hissed tersely. At her words, Reno's eyes first widened slightly, then narrowed, and something was mumbled against her hand. Taking that as a mark of assent, Yuffie slowly lifted her hands free, but for some reason couldn't manage to tear her eyes from the scars he had so desperately been trying to reach for in his dream. What the hell was happening to him? This was not the time to be having nightmares. It really wasn't…

"Oi… uh, brat?"

She jumped, raised her eyes to take in the whole of his face, and noted the somewhat amused expression there, choosing to ignore the flecks of shadow he was obviously still trying to shake free. "What?"

"… Get off me, ay? I kind of enjoy the ability to breathe and move my arms, despite whatever you might think."

Yuffie's head whipped down, and with an increasing blush and a somewhat mumbled apology she realized that in all the confusion she _had_ in fact been sitting on Reno, so as to pin his hands and stop his struggling.

_Stop his half-naked struggling_…

Yuffie felt her already mortally-wounding blush deepen as the immature part of her mind informed her of that already known fact, showing her without seeing a second glimpse of that well-toned chest. With a clumsy kind of grace that she was sure only she could manage given the current situation, Yuffie slid off the Turk's body and scrambled off the bed, turning away from him in order to regain her failing composure. "I… ah… sorry."

The silence that followed could only mean that Reno was smirking, and Yuffie turned around on her heel to silence him again, only to find a completely different expression on his face. She watched for a moment without speaking as he slowly sat up, his hand running over one of the scars on his cheeks in deep thought. But what really got to her was the haunted expression flickering in his downcast eyes, as his damp hair fell across his face, and she couldn't help but think that this was the second time in a few hours she'd seen beneath his callous mask. She shivered and took a step back, not sure of what to do in the aftermath. It was so much easier to think of him as a monster… that under different circumstances he could affect human emotion from _her_ of all people was unreasonable.

Was he really only human after all?

With a quick, instinctively pulsing clench of her fist, Yuffie spun around again in order to find something to focus on. Her eyes landed on the bag of gear she'd stolen, and she resolutely went and gathered it, sorted through the various accumulated junk, and returned to the bed with the clothing she'd found for Reno.

"Here," she mumbled, careful to keep her eyes on his face and not elsewhere, holding out the garments. "I got these for you when I was out."

Reno looked up at her, and she noted that once again his expression was carefully neutral. It briefly occurred to her that he'd obviously had situations like this before, where he'd accidentally let too much about himself slip. And by the sound of the name that had been held in that scream, she could gather that this was one of those times.

She watched as the Turk's eyes roamed over the gear she eventually got sick of holding out, and placed on the bed. She saw even as he did what the clothing was, and what it meant to him. She watched, even as his hands reached out and turned through the starched white shirt, the navy pants, and the matching jacket, and then the rest. "Well?" she asked after a moment. "It was the best I could find. Personally, I couldn't see you wandering around in a flannel shirt and moleskin pants, amusing as it might have been."

The familiar smirk returned, and Yuffie received it with grateful relief. She got up from the bed and went over to the bathroom door, facing away from him in order to allow him to get changed in privacy. "Don't worry, I have no desire in peek – what!" Yuffie felt her jaw practically drop to the floor as she caught sight of the shattered glass that covered the floor of the bathroom. "What the hell did you do?"

There was a brief snort. "I got angry."

"So you punched the _glass_ wall!"

"… I thought you were trying to stop me from yelling before?"

Yuffie took the hint that the subject was closed for discussion, and snapped her mouth closed. Her eyes roamed over the sparkling droplets of mixed glass shards and water, and she raised a delicate eyebrow. When she'd finished assessing the damage, she took a quick glance at a watch she'd also taken care of stealing from the small department store. She looked at the face of it without really seeing it, and suddenly she found herself thrown back into the fear of being found. "Are you nearly done?" she asked impatiently. "We've got to get out of here!"

"Done, you impatient git" Reno replied, and she turned around, noting on the side that the suit fitted rather well for something that she had only guessed at. However it only gave her a moment's relief as she realized that with his hair back in a ponytail, and the suit worn scruffy as always, he looked much more like the Turk she knew. The Turk she _wanted_ to keep her somewhat biased perception of.

"And what are you so worried about?" Reno asked, a frown painting itself across his face. "What did you find?"

"Donovan… Donovan and his men!"

Reno stepped forward. "What about them. Are you saying-"

"They're here!" she all-but shouted. "In Trent! I saw them!"

"You saw them?" Reno's tone wasn't so much startled, as it was dripping with a cold that made her wish the other Reno was back again. "Where!"

"When I was out just before. I was in a grocery shop, and I heard noises so I climbed out the window, only they must have heard me and I killed two of them and-"

"How many were there?" Reno demanded tersely.

"Three."

"Was Donovan there himself? Did you kill him?"

Yuffie frowned. "Yes, he was there. But, no… I – he ordered the men after me – I killed them, retrieved my weapons, and bolted."

"Did he chase you?"

"He-"

"Did he chase you! Does he know we're here?"

"I – yes. I think so. Well, he chased me – walked after me while I ran, more like. But he doesn't know we're here, I don't think."

"… Yet."

"Yet," she repeated.

Yuffie watched as Reno let this soak in, as he began to pace. She saw his eyes drift to the bedside table, and she pulled the gun out of her pocket. "Looking for this?"

Reno retrieved the weapon from her hand without a word, then checked the barrel for bullets. Yuffie saw without the need for conversation that what he saw was wasn't pleasing. "No bullets?"

"Did you get any while you were out?"

"… No."

"Then no. None."

"_Shit_!"

"My sentiments exactly, but that doesn't mean we hang around and sulk. We have to leave. It's only a matter of time before he finds us, and I'd rather be on home turf when he does."

Yuffie didn't like the sound of that, but nodded in agreement. Those eyes… She clenched her jaw, finding herself unable to meet even Reno's until the image was gone. "What do we do?" She felt more than saw Reno turn toward the bag.

"What else is in there?"

Yuffie walked over and gripped the handles, slinging it over her back with an audible grunt of effort. "Stuff for the road. Food. Materia. Things that we can get sorted once we leave."

"Okay. So once again, all we need is a car."

Yuffie groaned and resisted rolling her eyes. Despite it not being the time for immature actions, it didn't mean she reveled in the idea of going to all that trouble _again_.

Yuffie leapt into the car with more enthusiasm than she felt, dumping the bag in the backseat for a later time. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as Reno took a second look around the immediate area, and then pulled the plastic cover out from under the steering wheel, exposing a tangled web of coloured wires. She frowned, and turned her head to eye the scene more directly, when a glint of metal just beyond the steering wheel attracted her attention.

"Uh, Reno?" Yuffie said, leaning over the seat and the crouched Turk to jingle the keys that were hanging out of the ignition. "You needn't bother, yeah?"

From his awkward position along the floor of the car, Reno looked first at her and then the keys. Yuffie raised an eyebrow as she caught the look he directed at the object, before too-calmly putting the panel back into place and seating himself on the driver's side once again. He didn't say anything, but instead closed the door with equal cool and turned the key. The engine started without a hitch.

Yuffie affected a look of surprise, and found the expression mirrored in Reno's own face. "Well that was a little too easy," she said slowly.

"We've gotta get a break sometime, brat, and I'm sure as hell not complaining that it's now. Mind you, I'd put my money on the fact that we're going to pay for it later."

"You know, Turk, you're real comforting when you want to be."

"I aim to displease."

Yuffie snorted, ignoring Reno's blatantly typical comment as they pulled out of the driveway. She felt herself relax slightly for the first time in a while, however crass Reno had just been, grateful that they weren't receiving any attention as they slid by the thin, unmarked roads. The fact that the car had been unlocked had been a godsend, the owners assuring that it was just begging to be stolen, but the keys in the ignition? Yuffie felt herself shaking her head. What was it with small towns?

"What's wrong?"

Yuffie shrugged. "Just thinking about how stupid people are in little places like that. Leaving the key in the car."

"Makes our job a hell of a lot easier. I'll bet they've never heard of alarms, either. But had they known we were stealing it I doubt they'd have hesitated to rip out their shotguns."

She snickered, affecting a country-like accent. "Ma, rip out the shotgun!" Unable to help herself, she dissolved into a fit of laughter, hand covering her mouth in order to stop any noise from coming out. The look she saw Reno cast her out of the corner of her eye didn't help matters, either. "… What?" she finally asked, when she'd gathered herself under some semblance of control. "Didn't think I had a sense of humour?"

Reno snorted, but kept his eyes on the road, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Didn't know you were so familiar with the life of a hick. But then again… you're from Wutai."

"Hey!" she retorted indignantly. "Midgar isn't exactly the centerpiece of the world anymore, you know!"

"What about Junon?"

Point taken. Wisely, she stayed silent, and they drove without a word for the better space of ten minutes. The noise – or lack thereof – seemed pensive to Yuffie, and though she was kept anxious by the way in which Reno kept looking in the rear-view mirror every few seconds, she couldn't help but let her own thoughts wonder back to the events in the hotel room earlier. Despite pulling into the small inn to get rest, it seemed that they'd managed everything but, and that their luck had, after a brief lull, ran away from them again.

Yuffie sighed, leaning back more comfortably against the plush headrest, thankful at least that the car they'd stolen, however old, wasn't exactly a deathtrap. Reno was right for once, after all, they did deserve a break. It no longer mattered that the vehicle stunk of stale smoke, that there were scraps of paper and food wrappings on the floor. It was the little things now, that counted…

Like the fact that the hair on the back of her neck suddenly chose that moment to defy gravity. Yuffie halted her inspection of the vehicle and turned to Reno. His eyes weren't fixed on the road, or on her eyes, but the gash on her cheek. Yuffie frowned, and with the special attention it was getting, it of course, began to sting. With a light hiss she lifted her hand to touch the graze, and consequently hid it from the Turk's sight.

"What?" she asked after a second, when he didn't look away. "You saw it before, remember?"

"It's different somehow… why?"

"What are you talking about?" Yuffie retorted, exasperated. "It's exactly the same as before. Stop looking at me like I've grown a second head!"

"I would if you'd be honest!"

She sighed, and ran a finger lightly over the raw graze. "When I was in the alley, that guy – Donovan – he was shooting after me, and got a lucky one in. It scraped my cheek. Okay? Happy now?"

The set to Reno's jaw indicated otherwise, but he stayed silent. Whatever he had to say, she decided, had probably been nasty. "What does it matter, anyway?" she asked when Reno's glare didn't waver. "It's a little graze. Sure, it could have been worse had I not been careful, but I'm not an invalid, Reno!"

"Then what are you, brat? Because you're sure as hell not tagging along for the fun of the ride!"

Yuffie blinked. That had been unexpected. But then again, the pressure that Reno had been under for the past few days was obviously trying to find an outlet… whatever that may be. "What do you mean? You wouldn't have even made it through that forest without my help! You'd be lucky if you even woke up! Stop being so arrogant for a change, and explain it to me. You're not the only one at risk here. When you were in Wutai, you weren't even so nagging, but now…" Yuffie let her voice trail off, but her barrage of words received no reply.

Yuffie turned in her seat to face the redhead, watching as the faint moonlight peeking into the car's interior glinted coldly off his eyes, illuminating the steely blue of the Mako and making his expression seem all the more foreboding. "Are you going to answer?" she said a little more quietly. "Don't I deserve some answers?"

Reno sighed, and Yuffie swore she saw his knuckles clench tighter on the steering wheel. "No."

"And why not?"

"Because this doesn't involve you, and you'd do well enough to stay as much out of it as you can."

"I think it's a little late for that now, don't you?"

"And _whose_ fault is that?" Reno snapped back. "I remember clearly telling you to get the hell out of the alleyway, and you didn't listen!"

"And you would have been dead if I hadn't!"

"And what do you care about that! I'm a Turk, remember!"

"An ungrateful one at that, too! You never listen! You-"

"Hypocrite."

Yuffie stopped short in her next argument. "What?"

"I said, you're a hypocrite. If I told you not to jump into a pit of molten Mako because it'd kill you, you'd probably do it just to spite me!"

Yuffie fell silent. After thinking about Reno's last reply, the corner of her mouth twitched, and her frown began to disappear. She opened her mouth to make another point, but found herself entirely amused by the idea. She shook her head slowly, knowing just how stubborn she could be. "You're right," she concluded. "But you're no different."

Reno didn't say anything, but the crease between his brows grew smaller, and they'd been driving for only a couple more minutes when the cut on Yuffie's cheek twinged. With a wince, she ran her hand over it again, just then realizing that the entire argument that they'd just had had done a one-eighty. That idiot Turk had successfully dragged her from the more personal point, and onto another, without her even realising. She scowled, and was about to say something when she was bet to it.

"All right."

Yuffie cocked her head to the side a little, her face expressing confusion. "What do you mean, 'all right'?"

"All right, I'll explain."

"Everything?"

"What you need to know."

Yuffie had no idea what that consisted of, but she wasn't going to complain… yet. "Okay," she said after a second. "Explain away."

There was a brief pause, and it became imminently clear that this was a topic that brooked little negotiation with him. Just when she began to think he had no idea when to begin, he spoke.

"The cut on your cheek – the one that knifed you in the forest – did you get a clear sight of him?"

Yuffie frowned. This was not how she'd been expecting it to being. "Why is this important?" But her question was met with nothing but an air of expectation. "Okay," she said. "No, I didn't. It was dark, you know."

"Are you sure it was just a normal knife that he grazed you with?"

"What else could it be?"

"Something a lot worse, if they wanted."

"What's that supposed to mean? This isn't explaining, Reno."

"Yes it is. You just don't know what to listen for."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Continue."

"Donovan has a drug that he likes to use occasionally – something he stole from Hojo before a more tempting offer made him a turncoat. I'm not even sure on how he got his hands on it, but this prototype that Hojo was working on, was ruthless. That old coot went absolutely mad trying to find it after it suddenly went missing, and it wasn't even apparent Donovan had it until the end, when-"

"The end?"

Reno stopped, looked at her strangely for a second, then frowned. "The end of the last mission we worked on together. We'd known there was a leak in the system for quite a while, but until then, again, we had no idea it was him."

"He was your partner?"

A nod. "Anyway, without giving you all the boring little details, when we'd supposedly reached our target… it… the power for the grid of the reactor we were scouting for resistance went out. Not just the centerfold, but all of it. When it came back on, our target suspect had escaped, and everyone in the room had fallen except Donovan and me."

"What happened then?"

"I was offered in on his little scheme to overthrow it all, and when I refused he called in those who'd found the temptation of unlimited power too much, and I was captured. After that… well… I don't know… "

"How can you not know?"

"That drug I mentioned… the one he stole from Hojo? Well, I'd had no idea what it was capable of. Not until the morning Donovan came into my cell with it. After that… I don't remember a lot. But that's not what matters. The fact that it worked so fast… and so powerfully against someone who'd been infused with Mako was a worry. And in the wrong hands… with Donovan, who would do anything he could put his mind to if he wanted… it could be duplicated, dispersed, and used against anyone."

"Donovan was going to… "

"Take down Shinra."

Yuffie frowned. "Would that have been a bad thing?"

"President Shinra's life revolved around making things _better_ for himself at the expense of others. Rufus's term was intended to revolve around making things _better_ for himself at the _fear_ of others. Donovan… " Reno shook his head, his eyes cold. "Donovan's life revolved around making everyone suffer the way he did. And if he'd managed to infiltrate the Shinra system with that drug by lacing his weapons with it, taking hostage or killing everyone in power, then who knows how much worse it would have been."

Yuffie allowed herself a minute to soak the information up. "Then this drug… He tested it on you… ?"

There was a bitter laugh. "His _partner_," he replied ruefully.

She didn't know what to think. But as she raised her hand to her cheek yet again, Yuffie frowned, catching Reno's expression as she did so. "My cheek," she said slowly, "and this gash… " She looked up at him, only to find he'd taken his eyes momentarily off the road and was looking at her. "Then, does... "

Reno lifted a hand off the wheel and traced one of the crimson scars on his own cheek. "To test the drug on me, Donovan laced his knife with it."

"Donovan did that with the drug? Your scars there… "

"Are from him."

Yuffie nodded slowly, filing all that away for future reference. She sat there, staring at the dashboard for a moment, unsure of what to do or say. After a moment, she frowned. "So why are you worried about this little gash if you said the drug worked fast?"

"Why do you think we're after him now of all times? Donovan has gained enough knowledge in the area to know what's going to work, and when. Somehow he's managed to develop a strain of the drug that works more slowly, and can be ingested not only into the bloodstream, but any way."

"What would be the point in that?"

Reno shrugged. "Take the old Shinra quarters, for example. You've been into the Shinra headquarters? The mess hall?"

Yuffie had the good grace to look abashed. "When we were… uh… infiltrating it to get Tifa and Barrett out… "

"Of course," Reno snickered snidely. "How could I forget."

Yuffie had no answer for that, and let Reno continue.

"Well imagine if someone – one of Donovan's underlings, little-known and no apparent threat – managed to slip a sample of the drug into the mass food? Back into some of the Mako-infusion tanks in Hojo's lab? Some of this would require little to no effort, even now, since most citizen's records went up in smoke when Midgar was taken out. And if it did happen, all the effort required after it had been done would be for Donovan to walk into the offices and sit at a desk."

"… Oh. I see."

"Now do you understand? If something like that happened in Junon life would be a living hell for everyone all over again."

Yuffie bit her lip. From Reno's tone it sounded like the topic was closed, and granted, she'd received most of the answers she'd wanted. Most. But there was one other thing burning in her mind… and it had been ever since that last time she'd woken Reno up in the hotel room, and he'd yelled his lungs out until she'd shut him up. Was it bad timing? She supposed they were on the topic… And for some reason beyond her own reasoning… she just had to know.

"Reno?"

Silence.

"Oi, Reno!"

"What?"

"You know, before, when I woke you up in the hotel room?"

"When I woke up to find you sitting on me while I was wrapped only in a towel? Yeah."

"Well… do you remember what you were yelling?"

"I… " Reno frowned, squaring his jaw. "No."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

That answer just wasn't going to do. With a courage and a stupidity that she had been known to possess on occasion, Yuffie took a proverbial step in what she assumed was a forward direction. "Reno, who's Ashley?"

Reno didn't look at her, but he flinched visibly and she swore that the car swerved ever-so slightly. She flicked her gaze briefly to the road; it was smooth and unobstructed.

"You know when I said I'd tell you what you needed to know?"

"… Yeah."

"Well that is something that is of no concern to you. _At all_."

"Why, was she your girlfriend?"

The laugh that came out of Reno's mouth was not only bitter and scornful, but completely mocking. "Was _she_ what?"

Yuffie nearly gulped, but held it back. "… Your girlfriend."

"Was."

"_Was_ your girlfriend?"

"No. Just was."

"Was?" Yuffie queried slowly. "As in… "

"As in _was_. And as in, is no longer."

Yuffie nearly growled in frustration. "What!"

"Ashley is _dead_, brat. And by the way, if you're going to go and pry into the charming little details of my life that I've been trying to fucking forget, then you'd better know that Ashley isn't a she. He's a he."

"… Oh." Then, "Who was he?"

"Someone I got involved in the whole mess, and that I shouldn't have."

"What do you mean?"

Reno sighed. "Ashley – the kid was working for Donovan for some reason. A labour slave, more like. His gofer."

Yuffie watched as Reno rubbed a tired hand over his face, and even through the veil of darkness in the interior she could see the dark circles under his eyes. Sleep had obviously gotten him nowhere. "He was just a kid?" she asked quietly. "What happened?"

"Ashley was the first one to bring me food and water since I'd been locked away nearly a week before. It seemed odd; the kid would talk and talk, as if he wasn't scared. I think Donovan was actually taking care of him. Good care of him. He seemed like he had nothing to fear. Hell, I don't think he was supposed to be anywhere near me. And then… then I screwed up; eventually saw a way to escape and get word back to Shinra by getting information from him and getting him involved in something that didn't concern him. And then… "

"What?"

"Donovan found out."

"Oh. Then-"

"No more, brat. I'm not talking about it anymore."

This was the time to stop, Yuffie realized, if ever there was any. She bit her lip and wrung her hands together nervously. She had perhaps pushed it a little too far – had not only crossed the line, but driven straight over it (several times) – but had come out with the information she had needed.

And now she was feeling guilty, and sorry.

Though she didn't know the whole of it, doubted she ever would, Yuffie couldn't help but feel bad for prying so far. Sure, it was Reno, a Turk, but she was beginning to think that there was a lot more to him than met the eye. Whatever had happened, she guessed, it had molded him into the person he now was, and somehow she doubted that it was all by choice. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, appraising his seemingly laid-back exterior. Was it just the situation, or was her sudden ability to read his expressions more readily something to do with her sudden knowledge.

She sighed, feeling like she should apologise. What harm would it do just this once. She opened her mouth and sucked in a breath, but again, Reno seemed to be quicker off the mark.

"Just don't, Yuff. I'm the last person in the world you want to pity."

She frowned. "I don't pity you."

"No?"

"Not exactly, no."

"Then _what_?"

"I-"

"_Fuck_!"

The car, previously motoring along at a reasonable pace sped up suddenly, and Yuffie looked over at the speedometer as she felt herself momentarily pressed back against the seat from the acceleration; it was still climbing. "What the hell!"

"We let ourselves be distracted," Reno's low voice bit out between visibly clenched teeth, "and now the shit's hitting the fan."

There came another curse as Reno's eyes flickered in the dim lighting; him turning his gaze to the rear-view mirror. Yuffie's eyes widened, and even as she hoped she was wrong, she looked into her side mirror, feeling her heart sink. The words reserved for an apology came out in a full-fledged string of obscenities as she found her eyes riveted to the set of yellow lights crawling steadily up behind them.

She turned to Reno. "Don't tell me that's who I think it is?"

"Then don't phrase it liking a fucking question and I won't have to!"

Yuffie let her forehead crease in growing apprehension. "Are you sure?"

"Who else would drive this fast on a shingle road unless they were desperate to catch us!"

"Will they?"

"Will they _what_?"

"Catch us?"

Reno snorted derisively and Yuffie felt the car accelerate a little more, the engine revving loudly in an effort to cope with the growing strain. "I hate to burst your bubble, Yuff, but this car ain't nothing special, and Donovan always had this thing for speed."

And as she sat, feeling hopeless and out of her league in the passenger seat of a car traveling at deathly-fast speeds down a narrow shingle road, Yuffie once again realized that she just should have stayed home in bed.

_… Tbc…_

_Author's notes: Well hi there, everyone! I know it's been just over a month and a half since my last update, but I'm truly sorry! I won't make any excuses but to say that life has been a little hectic lately, and I've just finished a load of exams and have had to face a sudden proposal of career choice, so I've had little time. Because of that however, and just for you all and your wonderful reviews and excessive patience, this chapter is a little longer than usual. I hope you guys are happy that some of the answers have finally come about, however obscure! Oh, and did I mention there aren't many chapters to go? No? Well, there aren't. Anyway, I've got to go and post some mail, so I'll see you all next update. Thank you once again for your excellent reviews, and I hope I haven't disappointed you all with this post._

_Cheers!_

_Ealinesse! _


	9. On The Road Again

**Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,**

**By Ealinesse**

****

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. And a rusty truck that, _apparently,_ Reno and Yuffie don't want any more… Woohoo.

**Summary:** A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane.

**Warnings:** Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language, a little Violence.

**Category:** Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Angst, Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie Arguing… Nothing too unusual, really.

**Chapter Eight... On The Road Again…**

In the darkness a car and a flat-deck ute sped down a long shingle road, kicking up small pebbles and choking dust as they progressed. Every now and then the front-most one would swerve slightly, whether by design or by fault of the driver within, and the other would gradually inch closer, nearly bumper to bumper with the obviously ailing vehicle ahead. Within the first vehicle two passengers sat, both with equal expressions of displeasure as they found themselves torn between the limited, hopeless view in front of them, and the troubling one behind them.

Yuffie sucked in a sharp breath as the ute slid out yet again on the loose gravel, then again as the car behind them chose that same opportunity to nudge them so as to throw them even further off track. Not even sparing herself the chance to curse in aggravation, Yuffie threw a quick glance over her shoulder to try and see if anything else was happening. There seemed little point in that though, as only the indistinct blur of two headlights directly behind them shone clearly through the dust they were kicking up. She couldn't even see the car's shape, let alone the activity of the people inside. She turned back in her seat, and ducked lower.

As if reading her thoughts, a loud, piercing echo rung out over the sound of their protesting engine, and the solid thud of something small and agile hitting Reno's side mirror was the only warning they got before it shattered and fell back in a shower of glass behind them.

"Asshole," Reno muttered, casting a brief glance in his rear-view mirror.

Yuffie huffed, her eyes scouting the car for something she could hopefully use to help them. Sitting in the seat like this, with nothing to assist either herself or Reno was really getting to her. It would be nice to be able to contribute to saving her own life… "Doesn't he realise if they hit us and we spin out, they'll crash into us and be equally screwed?"

Reno sneered. "He won't be thinking about that. All that's running through his head is tying up some loose ends, and if he has to injure himself and kill whoever else is in the car with him, then that's what he'll do."

"He likes to take risks?"

"You don't know the half of it."

There was another jolt, and again the car fishtailed a little before Reno managed to get it under control. Yuffie watched him glare into the back mirror again before jamming his foot down further on the accelerator – but to no avail. It seemed the underpowered truck was already going as fast as it was going to go. Yuffie screwed up her face, Reno's earlier information running through her head. From what he'd said, and by what was happening now, it was becoming imminently clear that escaping like this wasn't an option. Hell… how about escaping at all!

But there had to be something to do… She _wasn't_ just going to sit there.

Yuffie let her eyes frantically roam the seats in front of her. Nothing. With hands that she tried to stop shaking by focusing on keeping them busy, she scavenged through the glovebox. Again, nothing but a few papers and a pen. She growled, contemplated tearing out her hair, then bent over and took a peek under the seat. Zip, zilch, zero, nada. "Goddamn it!" she hissed, raking her hazel eyes over everything she saw, and for a moment she was tempted to merely rip out the radio and cassette deck and throw it at the windscreen of the car behind them, until it occurred to her that she had no idea how. Car thieving was one aspect of the profession she had never really aspired to get into, and she had no desire to start now.

Oh, the irony.

"The backseat. Try it."

Yuffie nodded, twisting herself awkwardly in her seat in order to both stay low and get a good view of whatever was in the back. Upon first glance she saw nothing, but after leaning a little further around a small box appeared in her line of vision amongst various sheets of paper and plastic. She squinted her eyes, trying to read the label, and fairly crowed in delight when she did. She stretched out to reach the item, not bothering to puzzle over why something like that would be on the floor of a car like this, but found her arm stopped just short of the object. "Damn it," she muttered, reaching around to try and undo her seatbelt in order to snag the box. "I can't reach!"

"What's back there?"

But Yuffie didn't have the breath to respond as she found her chest growing shorter of air the more she stayed in this unwieldy position. With a grunt of effort she stretched her arm out as far as she could, feeling the muscles in her shoulder and forearm begin to groan in protest. "Come on, just a little further… please…"

The car swerved, and they were again jolted by Donovan's vehicle. Yuffie found what remaining breath she'd had left knocked out of her chest as she was thrown first against the side of the driver's seat, and then again against her own one. She winced, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she began to slide forward, and she was suddenly glad that she hadn't quite managed to remove her belt – otherwise it could have been a lot more painful. When she opened her eyes again, a brief grin flitted onto her face, and she finally managed to grip the box that had been knocked closer to them in the previous events.

She ducked back up into her seat as quickly as she could, hiding behind the headrest, though the little good that was going to do her if they were shot at more accurately again. With a quick second glance at the box, Yuffie snapped it open and looked inside. She would have smiled in pleasure as her expectations were again exceeded, but the current situation allowed no time for that.

"Anything useful?" Reno asked again, not taking his eyes off the road.

"You betcha," Yuffie responded. "Bullets!"

"Bullets? What caliber? Size?"

"Uh…" Yuffie fumbled the box in her grip, unable to decipher whatever was written on the small cube. "I'm not sure. I can fire a gun if need be, and load one if I'm given the correct bullets, but I have no idea… "

"I need to know if they're going to fit my gun. Here," Reno said, removing a hand from the wheel in order to pull his gun from his jacket. "Take a look for me."

But she still had no idea, and when she voiced that to Reno he growled in frustration. "Take one out and show me."

Yuffie slipped one of the small metal-tipped objects from the half-full packet and held it just by the steering wheel. "Any use?"

Reno cursed and shook his head. "They're for a shotgun."

"I take that as a no. What the hell do we do now?" she asked sourly. "Throw them at them!"

"Don't waste them yet," was the quick reply as Reno replaced both hands on the wheel again and cast another glance into the mirror. "Is there anything else in the back seat? If there's bullets there might be a gun."

"But with our luck… " Yuffie retorted, her voice trailing off as she bent around to take a second look. After being banged around twice more as they were rear-ended by Donovan's seemingly infallible car, she had nearly given up, when she caught sight of a small side tray tucked away into the back corner of the truck on the driver's side. With a snide comment about how good ol' Murphy was no doubt getting a kick from this, Yuffie successfully flicked her belt undone and crawled into the backseat, as she did so snaking a hand over and into the deep opening in the side.

She wasn't disappointed.

"You were right. It's back here."

"All right," Reno replied after a second. "Come back up here and load it up."

She did so awkwardly but with haste, the weapon trailing after her as she crawled back into her seat. Retrieving the cartridges she'd momentarily placed into the glovebox, she snapped the weapon open at the barrel and placed it at her side, face down on the floor. "What now?"

"We shoot the shit out of him, like he's been doing to us."

"How? In case you hadn't noticed, he just shot our side mirror out. If one of use leans out the window to shoot he'll return the favour and blast our arm off!"

Reno seemed to accept this statement, but it certainly didn't deter him in the slightest. Yuffie watched as a calculating gleam entered his eyes, before he flicked his eyes toward her in a sidelong glance. "Okay," he said after a moment. "How good are you with a gun?"

"I can shoot, if that's what you're asking."

"Can you hit what you're shooting at?"

"If I'm at a standstill. I'm trained more in the traditional arts than gunfighting. Shurikens, throwing stars, darts – handheld projectiles, mainly. I'm not sure if I could hit them."

"That doesn't help us in the least."

Yuffie scowled and focused her gaze ahead. "Would a clear shot be easy enough? How long does this road continue straight?"

"No fucking clue."

"What do you mean you're not sure! I thought the plan was to get to Junon!"

"It still is. But I took a back road in order to see if he'd notice. Quite obviously, he did."

"Your sarcasm is duly noted."

"Thank you. I try."

Yuffie screwed up her hands into fists. What the hell were they supposed to do! The one who was driving was the only one who could apparently shoot with supposed accuracy, and here was her, in the passenger seat, unable to drive either. She felt helpless, and was frustrated at herself for being so. She continued to berate herself for a moment, the adrenaline allowing her thoughts to run faster – however more jumbled – but she was saved from having to let them run any deeper when Reno spoke up.

"You up for a drive?"

Yuffie stared coldly at the Turk for a second after realizing his expression was dead serious. It then became apparent what he was suggesting. She balked. "Have you lost your mind? You know I have no idea how to drive!"

"A manual, at least."

"What d'you mean by that?"

Reno shook his head and waved his hand in a cut-off gesture. "I don't have time to explain, except to say that this truck is significantly easier to drive than the one we were in earlier."

"You want me to drive," she stated bluntly, unable to get past the fact that he was willing to sign a death wish in order to try something.

Reno must have caught the look on her face as he shrugged, sneering. "We don't have much choice. I'm the only one who's trained with a gun here, and I know I can shoot out Donovan's tyres if I'm given the chance. We need to trade places."

"How!" Yuffie fairly yelled. "We'll crash if we switch! And what about the accelerator? Someone has to keep their foot on it, don't they? Come on, Reno! I know at least that much!"

"Not necessarily," Reno replied, pointing at two small buttons in the middle of the steering wheel. "This truck may be an underpowered piece of shit, but it's a _modern_ piece of shit. It has Cruise Control."

"Cruise Control? What the hell's that?"

"It's where you keep the car at a constant speed without using the accelerator. All you need to do is accelerate to the speed you want, and then push that button. As long as you don't put your foot on the accelerator or the brake, it will remain at that speed until it runs out of petrol. Or hits something sold."

"But… don't' cars have gears?" Yuffie said slowly, feeling her neck crack painfully as they were rammed into yet again.

"No. That's a manual where you have to _manually_ change the gears. This is automatic, Yuff, and all it has is an accelerator and a brake. Basically, if I set this," Reno pushed one of the buttons," and take my foot off the accelerator, it will stay at the same speed. You got it?"

The cordial way in which the Turk was explaining this all to her was expressive of his expectation of her to take the wheel. It seemed he just didn't get it. She had _never_ driven before. Ever! "Reno, I can't-"

"Look, brat," Reno said sourly, cutting her off. "We don't have time to argue. We either do this, and stand a chance of getting out of this relatively unharmed, or we try and outrace him – which both you and I know isn't going to happen. Don't argue. Do you want to live or not?"

"That's my question to you," she retorted sarcastically, staring with growing horror at the steering wheel. She shook her head. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Dead serious."

Yuffie closed her eyes tightly for a second, trying to think of something else to say in order to change his mind – some other, more plausible idea, perhaps. But all that came out of her mouth was a squeaked, "okay," that would perhaps seal their uncertain fate even more than Donovan's apparent aim with his gun.

"Okay," Reno mirrored with a sudden smirk of amusement, and Yuffie felt like saying that he had no reason to be amused. If something happened, she could at least maintain that it was his idea. If they even got that far…

"The car's already on Cruise," Reno said, eyeing the shotgun on the floor, then catching her own eyes. "You don't need to worry about anything except steering. The two pedals – the one on the right is the accelerator. Don't touch that; we don't have enough grunt to make it go faster, and this ute is handling the straight shingle bad enough as it is. The left one is the brake. Use that only if you think we need it."

"The steering?" she asked meekly. "How-"

"It's Power Steering, by the looks. Don't jerk the wheel around – we'll crash. Try and keep the car as straight as you can. If Donovan tries to overtake us, get in front of him; things can be handled a lot easier that way. You got it?"

"Nope?" she asked with a smile that was more nervousness than a parallel to Reno's own apparent amusement.

"Good," he smirked. "Now, we'll do this now and get it over and done with quickly. I'm going to swerve the car, kick up more dust so Donovan can see us even less than he already can, and you're going to take control of the wheel then, when he's concentrating on being able to see. I'll get into the backseat right after I've done this, and that way you can crawl across… "

"… And drive," she finished off reluctantly.

"Exactly. At that point I can snatch up the gun and get to business."

Yuffie shook her head in bewilderment, sure it was just the adrenaline coursing through her that was allowing her to go through with this foolishness. "Each to their own," she whispered.

"You ready? Remember not to jerk the steering wheel – we have enough problems with Donovan tailgating us. Brake only if you have to, and-"

"Don't bother accelerating. Yeah, yeah." Yuffie met Reno's eyes again, noting the cold amusement swarming in the glowing depths. She watched as he looked away briefly – to the back deck of the truck through the small window of the back cab – and then back to her. She frowned, catching a change in the look in his eyes, and realization slowly dawned on her. "Reno," she began, "why are you explaining all this to me like you're not going to be inside the truck while I'm driving?"

Reno's smirk widened into that of a grin, and it was then she knew. Eyes wide with fright, not only for herself, but for what she was sure Reno was going to do next, she cast her own eyes out to the back of the ute. "You're kidding me."

"Not in the least. How the fuck else do you expect me to hit his tyres – or his windscreen – clearly, for that matter?"

"You're not just going to shoot from the back? From in here?"

"I can barely see through the window, let alone through the dust. Chances are they won't even notice I'm out there until I've fired a couple of shots off."

This was a lie, and they both knew it. "You'll get shot! Or thrown off! You're already injured, in case you haven't been reminded of that enough in the past few days! They'll have a clear shot of you if you just get out onto the back!"

"Not if I can help it."

"And what if you can't? You're speaking as if this is going to work!"

"Oh for Chrissake, Yuff, lighten up! It's our only bloody chance to shake him off that's actually an option!"

"You can't just-"

"Couldn't, shouldn't, wouldn't, brat," Reno retorted with a shrug, clicking off his safety belt which Yuffie took as a sign of final decision. "I've done a lot worse in my life, as you're well aware. Now, you ready?" he asked finally. When she said nothing, he shot her a warning glance. "Put your hands on the wheel, Yuff."

"No."

"Do it."

"No."

"You're wasting time. Do it!"

And with those last words Reno offered her a brief smirk, fishtailing the car even more than it was already doing for a few twists, before lifting first one, then both hands off the wheel entirely, not willing to give her even an option. Yuffie blinked, eyes widening, and before she had even thought about what she was doing she had lunged forward in her seat with a startled yell of protest, and taken hold of the wheel even as the mule-headed Turk began to crawl into the back seat.

Too shocked to even send the idiot anything more than a brief glare of anger and frustration, Yuffie found herself clambering awkwardly into the driver's seat in order to gain a better angle with which to control the shingle-pulled steering wheel. "Fuck you, Reno," she hissed as she practically glued her eyes to the road, her brain oozing concentration even as her heart pounded in apprehension and fear. They only had one shot, she realized soberly, and it had to be done right. Attacking him right now, or pinning him to the truck's upholstery with her Conformer, no matter the satisfaction, was not going to help the situation.

"You happy now, Turkey?" she snapped to the Turk getting organized in the backseat.

"Deliriously," he retorted, even more amusement in his voice. There followed a brief click – the safety on the shotgun, she realized - before Reno was suddenly leaning around the seat beside her, gun slung over his shoulder, smirking in obvious enjoyment. She shook her head in frustration. Why was it always the things concerning her own misfortune that he found so funny?

"How are you enjoying your first driving lesson?" he asked snidely, white teeth flashing as his grin widened.

"Obviously nowhere near as much as you," Yuffie ground out, taking one shaking hand off the wheel for a brief moment to smack the arrogant ass upside the head.

Reno ducked, then leaned back around the seat again. "Oh, shove it, brat. You're not doing near as bad as I thought you would."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!"

"Well face it, there's a lot of trees on the side of the road and we haven't hit any of them yet."

"Asshole. I bet you're just jealous because you crashed the first car you bought straight away, aren't you?"

Reno snorted. "Close. Actually, the first car I _stole_ I crashed."

_How the hell is that supposed to make me feel better_, she thought bitterly, but didn't say it out loud. "Nice," she merely muttered distractedly.

"I thought so."

And then there was an earsplitting shattering noise where everything grew louder, and it took a moment before she realized that Reno had just smashed the back window of the truck with the butt of the shotgun in order to make his way easily through it. Suddenly she could hear even the agonizing crunching of the tyres on the gravel, as well as the pained moaning of their engine. She kept her eyes on the road though, and made sure to keep herself focused. If Reno was going to go through with this dumb idea, then she was just going to have to make it as easy as possible for him as she could, despite how her instincts were screaming at her not to.

"Just drive," she whispered to herself over the increased noise, deciding with annoyed realization that the situation was only slightly different to the one they'd been in when they'd been on the skycab to Wutai - only it was a rabid human after them and not an enraged dragon. "Don't get distracted, just keep your eyes straight ahead, and drive."

"Good advice," Reno muttered from his position by the window. "Make sure you follow it."

Yuffie spared herself the briefest glances out of the rearview mirror, watching as Reno continued to clear the remaining glass from the jagged frame. When it appeared he was done, Yuffie frowned. "Be _careful_," she said. "Get yourself killed, and I'll leave you here. I'm not dragging your sorry carcass around anymore."

"You said that last time," was the smart reply.

And before she could even say something in return, Reno was gone through the window, gun and ammunition with him. Suddenly she felt very alone. With nothing more than a mirror to try and see through the limitless dust they were kicking up behind them, Yuffie could do no more than grip the wheel and try to stay on the road. But at least she was doing something now, a part of her mind told her, which was a hell of a lot better than sitting there. Though she couldn't help but think that the situation she was in now was just another form of hopelessness.

* * *

Reno crept out onto the flat deck of the truck, thankful that the countless stone chips their vehicle had to be kicking up would hide the fact that he'd just smashed a window in Donovan's direction. Lying carefully on his stomach, ignoring the resulting twinge in his side, he tried to peer past all the dust and the intense glare of the headlights to see what was going on inside. It was hard going. Every time their truck skidded a little, it appeared Donovan had enough foresight to bumper their car and throw them a little further off course. But Yuffie, it seemed, wasn't doing so badly as he'd initially thought, and he'd been in enough car chases in his life to be able to figure out the smaller details…

Like the fact that Donovan wasn't driving; not anymore, at least. If that had been the case, they would have been tree mulch a long time ago. He hadn't bothered to elaborate to Yuffie, but the reason that he'd crashed that first car he'd stolen had been because of Donovan's influence. His ex-partner had told him to test their 'new' vehicle out for durability and knock off the car ahead of them by ramming the back _corner_ diagonal to them, as opposed to front on. Apparently, that was the most effective way of knocking someone off the road; and at that time, it had been.

Reno frowned as another jolt hit him, and he shot his hands out to grip a small rail on the side so he wouldn't slide around again. No, he decided, recovering his gun. This definitely wasn't Donovan driving. Which meant that the other man had to be planning something – it wasn't like him to sit idle. If there was one thing he was sure of in all this, it was that Donovan never changed.

Taking another few seconds to peer through the haze, he lifted the gun and shimmied further down the back of the ute, grateful that the fold-down tray on the end edge of the vehicle was up and locked in place. Securing himself as much as he could – snagging the toe-end of one of his boots under the rails, and keeping one hand on the locked tray – he lifted the gun up onto the edge and began the difficult process of sighting a weapon from on top of a shuddering, rattling wreck of a deck on the back of a moving ute.

It was unclear how long he was lying there in that position, finger held poised and ready just above the trigger, but when they hit a slightly less dusty patch of road he took his chance and shot where he pictured the driver to be. Over the distinct rattling of their screeching truck Reno heard the sound of shattering glass, and he heard more than saw truck swerve as the driver found himself dead before he knew it. Not even allowing himself a moment to breath – even that was near impossible with all the muck swarming in the air – he struggled with the pack of ammunition, eventually managing to load another two into the dual barrel. Donovan would never go down that easy, and it was better to be prepared, in that case.

By the time he'd managed to lift the shotgun back onto the tray's support, a couple of shots rang out from a little further back than before, and Reno gathered that his ex-partner must have taken the wheel somehow. _Why else would he miss unless he were distracted?_ Reno thought.

He waited again, keeping low behind the decking as the other car began to catch up. This shotgun, powerful as it was, couldn't get off rounds as fast as his own firearm, and could only hold two bullets. Shots had to be accurate, and well calculated – something Donovan was no doubt commenting on even now. Not to mention his failing patience.

The opportunity eventually came again, and Reno quickly sat up and took a shot at the tyre. This time, though, his aim failed to produce any results as he found himself thrown backward momentarily. He cursed as he struggled to recover. Donovan could see what he was trying to do, and was literally throwing him off track.

And this time Reno didn't fail to notice that they swerved a little more than the other times, struggling to recover – and he knew exactly why. His asshole of a _friend_ was aiming for the back corner. There was no stuffing around anymore. This was it.

* * *

Yuffie swore, her knuckles white as she gripped the wheel with as much fervency as she could. It was past the time for distractions now, and though she was seriously trying her best to keep the small ute under her control, the car behind them was doing wonders to stop her, and this time was no different.

Gritting her teeth, Yuffie kept her gaze on the road ahead, when she noticed a slight variation in it. Was that… ? She leaned in over the wheel, trying to see what was growing closer. There was something different, of that she was sure, but she couldn't tell until they were nearly there… A solid jolt and a slight dip later and Yuffie blinked, wondering why the sound of crunching gravel had changed to a more solid, higher-pitched tone, and the car's rev count had dropped some.

"What the…" Yuffie examined the road more carefully, finally recognizing that it was suddenly significantly smoother, and that the difference had merely been a change in surface. She nearly affected a smile in relief, but it stopped when they were rammed again, and she forced herself to concentrate harder as the car spun out more than it previously had. She balanced the wheel like she had been doing, sure that she could control it if she tried hard enough, but instead found herself fishtailing even more. "Damn it!" she cursed, poking out her tongue and curling it upward in an expression of extreme focus. "Get it together you sorry excuse for a truck!"

Eventually the truck balanced out, and she sighed in slight relief. The feeling soon faded, however, as she realized that the road, before but a thin strip of unmarked seal, was widening into something more modern and manageable… At least for the person behind her, she thought, as the words Reno had told her before he'd left came back.

_…_ _If Donovan tries to overtake us, get in front of him; things can be handled a lot easier that way. You got it?_

Yuffie shook her head wildly. "No!" she hissed in annoyed frustration. "I'm having enough fucking trouble as it is!"

But she did as she thought was best, pulling the car away from the side and into the middle of the road, grateful that there was no oncoming traffic that she could see. She looked cautiously into her rearview mirror, mentally taking note that she could see the car behind them a lot clearer now that the loose dust and gravel was behind them. It didn't serve to make her feel any better though, as she could now see Reno leaning over the back ledge of the truck, aiming up the shotgun in order to get a clear target.

"Idiot," she muttered, her eyes returning to the road before she could concentrate any more on the car following her.

That proved to be a big mistake.

The car behind her moved forward without her knowing as she turned away, and a more solid and infrequent nudge than all the others caused her to jerk the wheel and snap her neck forward with the impact. The jerk of their truck in response caused her teeth to snap together, and her jaw and neck muscles to ache with the involuntary movement. With a shout of startlement Yuffie realized what the driver was trying to do, and it was exactly what Reno had warned her against. Pulling the wheel to the left, she returned to the middle of the road in order to correct the mistake…

But too late. Even as she yanked the wheel toward the centre of the road the obviously faster car began to pull up beside them, and the two collided, the ailing truck caught at a bad angle. The car, lower to the ground and obviously of better make recovered quickly, pulling forward even more, while the truck swerved wildly at high speed.

And even as she forced the vehicle to recover, Yuffie realized it was too late to try and rectify it as she began to see the car more clearly still – though not from the rearview mirror or rapidly clearing dust, but from right beside her.

* * *

"Don't you fucking dare," Reno growled in frustration as their truck was nudged a second time in a row, and pushed even further to the side of the road. He could only watch in annoyance as the car previously behind them defied his remark and gradually pulled up alongside them. He scowled, eyeing the eerily silhouetted face peering out with contempt. "Asshole," he mouthed to the sole occupant of the vehicle, and was rewarded with a shrug and an equally bitter smirk, before a familiar weapon was raised and aimed.

Reno ducked and rolled as best as he could in the awkward tray of the truck, hearing the bullet that had just been shot deflect off the metal of the frame. Scrambling for the box of pellets that he'd dropped the last time they'd been nudged, Reno pulled out two and proceeded to load them into the weapon when the sound of metal screeching on metal alerted him to the fact that Donovan was going to try and push them even further off the road. Sliding away from the more direct side of the truck, Reno shimmied along the floor and was just clicking the barrel closed again when the force of the impact became more localized. Reno found himself thrown across the other side of the tray, and could only grunt in pain as his armed hand slammed full-on into the metal railing attached. That was sure to leave a mark.

"Shit!" he cursed, refusing to drop the shotgun he'd just loaded. But even as he said that, he realized the box of bullets he'd been holding in his other hand had been lost in the confusion. Staying low, Reno looked around hastily in the darkness in order to try and recover them, but found nothing. With aggravation he realized that it must have been thrown over the side. His scowl deepened. Things were just going from bad to worse.

And he had one shot. _One_.

"Asshole," he yelled louder this time from his concealed position, deciding to wait for a moment so he could ready himself better.

* * *

Yuffie was fretting. She knew it, and she no longer cared. Because of the less traction and grip they had on the road due to the slippery seal, it was becoming harder and harder to keep the vehicle under control the more they were hit. She had no idea whether anything back _there_ had been damaged because of this, and was affecting her manipulation of the vehicle, but there was little she could do about it now.

Yuffie flicked her gaze to the rearview mirror for what must have been the thousandth time, not to eye the other car – no, that was now practically beside her – but to check on Reno, who had in the last smash been thrown against the side. A pang of worry flooded through her, and she tore her eyes away, casting her gaze instead to the callous-looking man driving along beside them. That made her no less worried, however, and so she looked back at the Turk again, willing him to move. She couldn't be sure – the lack of lights behind them was affecting her judgement – but it looked like he hadn't moved since that last jarring impact had subsided.

"Come on, you idiot," she muttered. "Move." Unable to tear her eyes away from the sight, and not wanting to be left alone to face this man by herself, Yuffie practically glared at the mirror. Her efforts were not in vain. As she watched, an arm lifted slightly, and then a whole body of its own volition. She couldn't help herself; she grinned and looked back to the road. She would never admit it, but all those gunshots had left her wondering what would happen if the arrogant Turk happened to die back there, leaving her hopeless to help defend them. For some reason, though she didn't particularly like aspects of his personality, it was a frightening thought to realise that she was trusting him with this.

She shook her head fervently and shook off the deepening thoughts she had no time for, tightening her grip on the wheel and squaring her jaw in determination. Sooner or later this would all be over, and for reasons she couldn't comprehend it was just a whole lot more comforting having someone else around.

Yeah. That was it.

* * *

Reno rolled over, taking aim as a strange kind of silence fell, interrupted only by the engines of the two cars, and the eerie wind that had risen some time earlier. He frowned. He had one chance to get this right, and one chance only, otherwise this would just never end. Peering into the car with narrowed eyes, Reno aimed the shotgun with a steady hand that was counteracted by the serious vibrations the truck was making as it progressed over the road. He watched as Donovan realized what he was doing, and put a stop to reloading his gun, instead pulling ahead more so he could be seen – not to mention shot - less easily.

Reno grinned, but concealed the look as he squared his eyes off with the top of the closest back tyre and placed his finger over the trigger, concentrating fiercely in order to make sure the pellets would hit their targets.

* * *

Yuffie looked through the mirror, watching as Reno aimed up the gun and Donovan pulled even further forward, pretty much parallel to her. She cocked her head to the side as she watched Reno lean further over the side. Was he aiming for a tyre? She looked closer, squinting. Was he grinning? She smirked, and checked the road before looking at Donovan out of the corner of her eye, unable to ignore the fact that he was watching her.

Sure she knew what Reno was trying to do, she covered her lips with a hand and turned away from the man in order to hide her expression… and so she wouldn't have to look at his cold, spooky gaze.

Whether he had noticed or not, though, Yuffie didn't know. But for some reason he'd stopped loading up his gun, and was concentrating seemingly on pulling in closer to them. She frowned. What was he doing? Was he going to—

Yuffie cursed as they were smashed into yet again, though from a different angle. She strengthened her hold on the wheel and tried to keep the truck straight for a few seconds – long enough to free them from the force. But something was different this time. Through the dark haze, Yuffie looked over to the other vehicle, only to find that the impact had been enough to keep them locked momentarily together. She jerked the wheel, trying to shake the car free from them, droplets of cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.

And that was when she noticed the other problem: Donovan was gone.

So he had noticed.

"What!" Yuffie hissed, torn between trying to keep the two vehicles on the road, and trying to find out where Reno's ex-partner had gone. She was saved from having to do the latter, when a sudden thud alerted her to the fact that something had just landed on the bonnet and Yuffie found herself not needing to even guess what it was. No sir… the hopeful soon-to-be roadkill was crouching low on the hood looking straight at her, gun raised and grinning coldly.

Yuffie's eyes widened and she yelped in surprise, jerking the wheel in order to try and throw him off. But it seemed that he'd sensed that too, and before she could jerk the wheel again he was gone.

Yuffie scowled, knowing it was probably too much to hope for that he'd misjudged the jump, and had gone flying way over the back and onto the road instead of landing squarely on the deck behind her. Another thud told her that her assumption was true, and she looked on, once again unable to do anything but drive and try and free them from the second death warrant that was the other car.

* * *

Reno took care aiming, gritting his teeth and keeping a firm grip on the shotgun. He'd just tightened his finger a little on the trigger when a jolt from the car next to them caused him to slide a little. Reno's teeth clamped together of their own accord as the sound of screeching metal pierced the air. He cast a brief look up, seeing that the car had hit them hard enough to catch on something in the frame, and that the two vehicles were now linked.

Reno frowned and turned back to his target, concentrating harder. That fact only made it more imperative that he be accurate. With a last intake of breath and the knowledge that he couldn't fuck this up, he pushed all sound and other sights out of his mind and squeezed the trigger.

A grin slipped easily onto his face as the tyre he'd been aiming for exploded under the dual pressure of the two pellets, and the car previously connected to them was dislodged from the impact, breaking away from them and spinning out down the road behind them in a smog of burning rubber. He was just about to turn away, satisfied that he'd thrown Donovan off and possibly injured him, when he caught sight of the interior of the car. Reno let his Mako eyes narrow, forcing them to look past the darkness. He couldn't be certain, but he was sure that there was nothing to be seen in there – no movement. As was that sunroof on the top… open?

Reno shook his head, willing away his imagination. What a load of shit. He was tricking himself into the belief that it wasn't possible that it could be that easy. With a shrug, he turned around, not sorry to see the man go.

It was safe enough to assume, then, that when he spotted the man that was suddenly crouching before him on the tray of the truck, who was theoretically _supposed_ to be now about a kilometer behind them in a wrecked vehicle, he was caught off guard.

"Looking for me?" Donovan asked, standing carefully and aiming his gun at him in the darkness, teeth glinting under an icy smirk.

Reno scowled, realizing that he should have trusted his instincts - they were usually right. He offered a brief, bitter smile. "Not particularly," he remarked, and took up a defensive stance. "You just don't ever seem to go away."

* * *

_Author's notes: Hey everyone! Just thought I'd post the next chapter since I'd done it already. This time I've played around with my formatting a little more – it seems that ffnet doesn't like my paragraph breaks or something, and it keeps screwing it up. I don't know about you guys, but it annoys the hell out of me, so hopefully using something other than a star or two will work. Cross fingers._

_Thank you all for your reviews… it's great to see this is still being read, despite my slackness! Hopefully I'll be able to make up for it by getting these last chapters out a lot sooner._

_Eternal Wanderer: Thanks for your comments on Reno's backstory. I was kind of wondering how it was going to be received, as I know that there are a lot of fics out there with so many ideas, so I was hoping to come up with something original. Oh yeah… and cocky, normal Reno… I'm getting there. This chapter has him a little more up to par, so tell me what you think okay? And no worries… I'm still writing… _

_The Burning Misery: Hrm. Yuffie already poisoned by the drug? Perhaps… we'll have to see, huh? And thank you for your compliments on Reno's background. I tried to make it plausible as I could. And yes, there are still things to clear up, of course. But we aren't quite at the end of the story yet… Hope I'm not annoying you too much!_

_Tijuana Pirate: Lol! Catch a breath, and yes, complete sentences. I was wondering what you were going to say when you found out that Ashley was a boy. I remember in your review that you had said something along the lines of assuming that Ashley was a girl… so I'm happy that I'm not all-too predictable. Hope you liked this chapter!_

_See you next update!_

_Ealinesse._


	10. Nearly

**Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,**

**By Ealinesse**

****

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. And a rusty truck that, _apparently,_ Reno and Yuffie don't want any more… Woohoo.

**Summary:** A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane.

**Warnings:** Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language, a little Violence.

**Category:** Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Angst, Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie Arguing… Nothing too unusual, really.

* * *

**Chapter Nine... Nearly.**

* * *

_…_

_"Looking for me?" Donovan asked, standing carefully and aiming his gun at him in the darkness, teeth glinting under an icy smirk._

_Reno__ scowled, realizing that he should have trusted his instincts - they were usually right. He offered a brief, bitter smile. "Not particularly," he remarked, and took up a defensive stance. "You just don't ever seem to go away."_

…

* * *

Yuffie watched as the black-cloaked man stood from his crouch, only just managing to spot the hazy expression on Reno's face before he was obscured by the flickering coat. Yuffie screwed up her face, took a moment to make sure the road was secure before her, then glanced back into the mirror just in time to see Donovan raise his arms, and keep them there. And to her that meant only one thing.

A gun.

And Reno was out of bullets!

She had to do something. And then with a flash of inspiration, it hit her. Yuffie eyed the steering wheel for a split second before jerking it slightly, hoping like hell that Reno would manage to stay on the back while she attempted to throw Donovan off guard. Her little trick worked, and she wiggled her shoulders just a little in delight as she watched the two of them go down in a tangle of limbs, still on the truck. She didn't fail to notice the gun that went off the side and scattered to the road.

Getting the truck back under control was a much easier ordeal this time – after all, she'd done it countless times in the past half hour. She grinned, feeling accomplished. _Finally_ she'd done something of use.

* * *

Reno didn't have so much as a split second of warning before he and Donovan were thrown off their feet by a sudden wavering of the truck. Not having time to contemplate the reason, but realizing that Yuffie must have been watching, he sent a silent thanks out to the brat, who just kept doing better and better.

The two rolled to a stop at the end tray as the truck straightened out, both struggling for the upper hand. Winded from the impact, they threw blind punches, and it wasn't until two strong fists grabbed Reno by his shirt that he realized Yuffie's little trick had removed Donovan of his gun.

"Bad luck about the gun," Reno said with a smirk as he grabbed hold of Donovan's hands and shoved the man back toward the other end of the truck. Before the other man could put up a defensive stance, Reno lunged forward and began a barrage of punches and kicks to Donovan's abdomen and face, some of which were only just blocked in time due to the darkness. Halfway through a punch, however, Reno felt something knock at his ankles, and he stopped, stepping backward as he realized what Donovan was going to try and do. What he hadn't seen, however, was the fist flying toward his abdomen.

"Bad luck about Ashley and your key," Donovan said, fist flying.

Reno stumbled backward as the punch – not pulled, of course – struck hard and true to his tender side.

"Ah, so that _is _where the bullet hit you," Donovan said as he stepped forward, aiming a series of punches at the same spot.

Reno felt Donovan's hands grip his shoulders, and then something swipe his feet, and in a matter of seconds he was on his back with Donovan kneeling over him, his fist pressing painfully into his already aggravated injury. "Does that hurt, my _friend_?"

"Cheap… Donovan," Reno ground out, in turn gripping the other man unexpectedly by the chest with one hand, and punching him in the face with the other. Donovan fell back for a second, before returning, but that had been all the time Reno needed to get back up. Reno raised his fists and struck out again, throwing in a kick for good measure, but found that Donovan was throwing just as many back.

Reno scowled, hating the not-being-able-to-see issue as a knuckled fist cracked against his cheek. His head snapped back, and he ducked, only to catch a knee in his side. "Damn it!" Reno hissed breathily, and rolled out of the way of a vicious stomp, grabbing Donovan's foot and dragging him to the ground to level the playing field, so to speak.

He punched out again, grabbing Donovan's fist and forcing it backward, getting the upper hand for a moment as they rolled to a stop, slamming into the side once again. Reno took the opportunity to kneel over his ex-partner and smirk, punching him twice in the stomach, and then in the face. "You're an asshole."

"You are… what you are," Donovan retorted between punches, then somehow managed to free himself and roll sideways. Consequently, Reno's fist hit the hard metal of the truck's deck, and he instantly pulled his fist back, shaking it for a second before getting to his feet—

… Or at least, before he _tried _to.

Reno felt his breath forced painfully out of his chest as something solid with lots of momentum struck him in the chest. He fell back, gasping for air, and kicked out at Donovan's shin, but he hit only air as he watched Donovan sidestep and strike out again.

Again he was hit – though this time his wrist was snagged on the backlash, and Reno realized that Donovan had found a chain lying around on the truck's deck. "Oh great," he wheezed. "You've found a new toy." His only answer was a shrug before he was yanked painfully to his knees and kneed in the stomach again.

"Fuck. You," he grunted. "Can't you hit anything else?"

"I could. But I'm cheap, remember?"

Reno's reply was simple. He blew Donovan a quick, sarcastic kiss before yanking his arm free and throwing a punch.

* * *

Yuffie winced as Reno was yanked to his feet, then punched back down. That had to hurt. Not like she could do anything from up here, though. She sighed, and turned her eyes back to the road when something up ahead caught her eye.

Or, more accurately, the _lack_ of something ahead.

"Oh… shit… Is that a… corner?"

Yuffie looked into the back mirror, watching as Reno aimed a punch at Donovan, then turned back to the road, heart beating wildly. What was she supposed to do? Brake and turn? Stop? She couldn't even see what it was, so how was she supposed to react? She twisted her legs to the side to get a better view of the two pedals. Reno had said the left one was the brake, right? She frowned, sure that was correct, and held her leg poised over the pedal, not sure of when to begin. Certainly it would be a simple matter to stop now, right? After all, they weren't being chased anymore, and that way she could pitch in at last.

Her mind made up, Yuffie looked up at the road and pressed her foot on the brake and –

Nothing.

Yuffie blinked, pressing her foot down harder, and when that didn't work, she jammed it repeatedly, pumping it in an effort to get it working. When that failed, Yuffie took her foot off it and forced herself to breathe. "Okay, calm down," she said slowly. "Just don't panic. There must be a logical explanation for this."

_Like Donovan might have known you were going to steal a car and…_

"Shut up," she told the voice inside her head. "You aren't helping."

Thinking hard, she eyed the other pedal, then looked back to the road as whatever it was grew closer still. With a shrug, knowing that the truck couldn't go any faster even if that was the accelerator, she jammed her foot on it. Hard. And…

Still nothing.

Yuffie rolled her eyes heavenward and began slamming both pedals repeatedly. Someone was sure having a good laugh up there.

* * *

Reno gasped for breath, one hand gripping the chain now trying to wrap its way around his neck, and the other gripping Donovan's own throat. The pressure suddenly increased, and Reno practically choked as his airway threatened to close.

The man leaning over him leered. "Don't tell me you're giving up already, buddy? I've only just warmed up."

"Bite… me," Reno muttered, trying to shove the man off, but unable to because of the pressure on his neck, and the knee digging into his side, pledging unfair advantage to his already battered senses.

"What about… _choke_ you?" The chain tightened further.

"… pass…"

"Then you leave me just one more option, my friend. And I'm sure you're going to enjoy it just as much as you did last time…"

The knife that Donovan pulled out from a strap on his arm looked all too familiar, and Reno couldn't help but let his eyes widen as the keen blade glimmered menacingly in the moonlight. A cold feeling pooled in his gut, and he realized that perhaps he should have taken the first option after all.

* * *

Yuffie stared at the changing road ahead of them, unable to do anything but keep her foot on the brake and hope for the best – though it was quickly becoming apparent that the best, no matter the circumstances, turned out to be nothing but the worst-case scenario. Yuffie squinted as they drew closer still, and after a few seconds with aide of the lights, she began to finally see what was wrong with the road - and quickly wished she hadn't. The fact of the matter was, there wasn't any. Nothing.

_Going to crash… _ _Going to crash… Again…_

Yuffie pushed away that helpful comment from that especially helpful part of her mind and focused on the truck. And the road. And what was going to happen when they reached the end of it, and went over the embankment that was creeping steadily closer. Briefly, she contemplated jumping out, but realized that with the speed they were currently traveling she would probably just kill herself anyway. It also wasn't going to help Reno.

"What the hell is going on!" she hissed, catching a glimpse of something moving in the distance. She paled as she realized what it was. Light on water... a river? She cursed. That didn't help their situation any. "Where is the road? Or the bridge! Aren't they supposed to have signs for these kind of things!"

In a last ditch effort to get them to stop, Yuffie looked around the truck frantically, before spotting the keys. With wide eyes she shook them until the ignition was turned off, and yanked the key out. She waited for a reaction, and was happy to find that they were slowing a little, but not nearly enough. The end of the road looked like it was just over a hundred metres away.

"Damn it!" she yelled, knowing that if she didn't do something soon they would be nothing but mush. "Come on, think. Think, brain!" Her hands roamed frantically over the dashboard, and after finding nothing she looked to her right, noticing a lit panel with a shift-stick-thing and a handle just behind it. She frowned, remembering that before they'd gotten this car started that Reno had clicked it downward, and that the car had rolled slightly. Was it another brake? Would it work?

She pursed her lips and felt a droplet of sweat roll down into her eye, obscuring her view of the scene before her a little – but not nearly enough. With a last deep breath, Yuffie decided that it was worth a try, and certainly better than nothing, and yanked the handle sharply up with a grunt of effort.

They slowed suddenly. So suddenly, in fact, that it hadn't occurred to her that it might be too much for the poor truck to handle. The truck fishtailed a little, then a lot, and even as she tried to adjust the steering wheel in order to get them to straighten out they began to do the complete opposite; spin out. Yuffie let go of the wheel as it yanked fiercely against her own grip, and even at their greatly reduced pace, the truck spun around wildly, the sound of screeching brakes and tyres desperately trying to grip the disappearing surface ripping loudly through the air.

And then suddenly they were there. Yuffie opened eyes she hadn't realized she had closed and could only watch in horror as they skidded up to the edge… and then right past it.

There was a moment of weightlessness where they seemed to float slightly in the air, after which gravity decided to kick in. With a solid thud and a loud crack, the truck began to roll. Yuffie had time enough to just see the briefest glimpse of a large, muddy bank, a scattering of trees, and a river stretching across it all before blinding pain and then…

Nothing.

* * *

There was the sound of skidding tyres and then loose gravel, and then… a distinct lack of gravity. Reno let out a yell startlement as the deck of the truck was suddenly yanked out from underneath them, and they were flying through the air. Hands that had only moments before been struggling to shove Donovan and his knife away were suddenly scrambling to hold onto anything of purchase that would anchor him to the truck. Mako eyes wide, Reno tried to see just what the hell was going on, though nothing but darkness permeated his vision. One thing he could tell, though, was that whatever was happening, it certainly wasn't any pothole.

One of his hands caught something as he felt himself flying backward, and he realized that it was the chain that had seconds ago been held tightly against his neck. He held onto it with a white-knuckled grip, his other hand coming up slowly and painfully to reinforce his hold. From beside him he heard a small yell, and he became aware that Donovan, like himself, had been equally thrown astray by whatever was happening to the vehicle, and was holding onto the side bar of the truck with all he could.

And then they were falling.

Reno felt himself lift higher, felt one of his shoulders pop painfully as the chain he was gripping was suddenly yanked taught by the straining gravity forces working against himself and the truck. For a second he was completely weightless, until there was a loud crash and the truck obviously hit something solid. Reno winced, closing his eyes and bracing himself for what was no doubt going to be a very hard impact.

Sure enough a moment later the chain he had been holding went slack again, and he felt himself spinning slightly before landing with an agonizing crack against the truck. The shoulder that had been yanked by the chain again took the majority of the strain, and Reno found himself letting go of it in order to put pressure on what was most probably the burning pain associated with a dislocated – or fractured – shoulder. However he had no time to deal with that, as the truck suddenly gave a loud, groaning lurch, and he was given something else to worry about…

Like the fact that the truck was beginning to roll.

With a curse that was more habit than anything, Reno raced to the end of the truck, not being able to see what was before him, but knowing that whatever fate lay out there, it was certainly better than being crushed under the weight of an already-mangled flat-deck ute. Without a moment to spare, Reno vaulted over the end of the tray and out onto a…

Bank?

Reno felt something wet and cold give under his skin, and he felt his feet slide out from under him as what he took to be mud found something else to toy with. He didn't have even a second to worry about where Donovan was, as he startled to skid rapidly downhill beside the truck, scraping against various twigs, stones and rocks in turn. Just when he was sure he was slowing, his booted feet, which were before him in order to try and stop him, hit something rather large, and his momentum threw him forward. Flipping awkwardly over what he deemed to be a particularly large rock, Reno again landed seconds later in a haze of mud and pain, before the gradient of the verge evened out, and he was finally allowed to stop.

He lay there for a moment, barely daring to breathe, his back, right shoulder and side burning from the ordeal. It was only a moment, however. Opening reluctant eyes, Reno realized there was one thing he had forgotten in all the action.

Yuffie.

"Oh, fuck," Reno whispered, sitting up with a stifled groan of pain. Pushing himself to his feet, he swayed a little, trying to rid himself of the tiny little stars dancing around in his vision. A second later they cleared, and he found himself able to see a lot better. The white truck, which had rolled back upright, lay crumpled and battered a small way off. Various items that had fallen out from the shattered windows lay strewn haphazardly across the ground in amongst glimmering shards of broken glass. The only sound in the area came from the truck's still-running engine. Reno's eyes narrowed and he began walking toward it, his eyes taking a second to examine the area he now found himself in before he reached the truck.

It was a lot lighter down here for some reason, he noticed, even where the beat-up headlights weren't pointing. Upon looking upward, though, he realized why. The trees that had been obscuring a great deal of light from the road were more scattered now, and thinner, growing only occasionally in small patches. The moonlight was glinting off what looked like quite a wide river a few metres to his right, and he finally realized that it must have been a washed out bridge or something equally disturbing that had caused their trouble.

Great. Construction problems.

Gritting his teeth against the pulsing in his shoulder, Reno kept a wary eye out for any signs of Donovan, but knew that his more pressing concern was the one who hadn't made it out of the truck. He stepped up to the closest side of the battered vehicle, his eyes scavenging for Yuffie even as his ears listened for anything out of the ordinary.

"Yuff?" he whispered, spotting her slim form slumped over the wheel on the driver's side in amongst all the scattered objects. "Damn it, brat, you better be all right." There was no answer, and without another word he yanked the closest door open – the passenger's. Or, at least, he tried to. Both hands clasped on the handle, Reno leaned backward as hard as he could, stopping only when his shoulder warned him that going any further was going to hurt him more than the door. He scowled. Whatever hammering the car had taken, it had been too much. Something had jammed the metal of the frame closed, and there was no getting in on this side. Reno walked around the back of the truck to the driver's side door, his senses buzzing with the strain of trying to find something off in the silence.

When he reached the other side of the still-running truck, Reno pulled the handle. It came free easily, but as soon as the door opened he found himself with an armful of Yuffie. "Shit," he muttered, stumbling backward slightly as he was forced to hold onto something that his injured arm had no desire to. Eventually he managed to swing Yuffie back into her seat, and lean her backward so her short hair fell back and he could see her face. The moonlight pooled over her skin in a sickly pale light, and Reno found himself holding his breath as he reached out to feel for a pulse.

For a moment there was nothing, and Reno squared his jaw, moving his hand instead to her limp wrist in order to try and find more positive results. "Come on…" he hissed, impatient. "Come on!"

Something pulsed against his fingers; once, twice, three times. Reno let out his breath and tipped his head forward in relief. Her pulse was slightly unsteady, a little weak, but it was there, and recovering even as he examined it. "Thank fucking god," Reno muttered, leaning over and undoing the seatbelt that had no doubt saved her life. Deciding it would probably be best that he get her out of the vehicle in case it decided to work even more against them, he grabbed Yuffie under the arms with a grunt of effort, and pulled her out of the car, lying her on the thin, muddy grass beyond.

Reno crouched beside her, tilting her head backward in order to get a better look at her face with the help of the dim headlights, and pale moon. There was a gash just above her eyebrow that was swelling rapidly, and that cut on her cheek, but he could see no limbs lying at unnatural angles, and no gaping wounds anywhere else. "Oi," he whispered, inspection finished, placing his good hand against her face. "Wake up." When he received no reply, Reno patted her cheek lightly, then a little harder as she began to respond. "Come on, brat, we don't have all day."

"…s' night."

Reno raised an eyebrow as confused, cloudy hazel eyes fluttered open. "Welcome back," he said. 

"… the hell's there… to welcome me back… to?"

Reno snorted at the slurred comment, a lot more relieved than he was willing to admit. "The fact that you're still alive?"

An annoyed groan was his only reply. Reno shook his head. "What, you're not happy about that fact?"

"Depends. Would've been… happier… if that stupid…s'rry excuse f'ra truck had… working brakes…"

The other eyebrow shot up. "They didn't work?"

"What… do you… think?"

"I think perhaps you pushed the wrong pedal."

It was Yuffie's turn to snort in apparent amusement, and it occurred to Reno that she was likely to have a concussion as she began to giggle.

"Pushed… both. Then yanked that… other thing 'cos we're… going too fast."

"The handbrake?"

"'s the one… I think."

Reno snorted. "You pulled a hand-brakey at top speed, in a truck with two-wheel drive."

"You w're stupid… 'nuff to let me… drive."

Reno smirked and shook his head. She had a point. He was about to say something when Yuffie tried to sit up. "Don't, " he said, putting his hands on her shoulders in order to push her down. As he did so, a fiery pain shot through his own shoulder and down his arm, and he suppressed a choice phrase that popped into mind. "Just don't, " he repeated. "I'm not going to try and catch you again if you fall. You're heavy for someone your size."

Yuffie seemed to ignore the comment. "… You…are hurt," she said, and this time her voice was a little clearer.

Reno shook his head and laughed. "That's a case of the pot calling the kettle black." He leaned over her more, gently turning her head sideways so he could examine the gash above her eyebrow better, ignoring her weak protests at his prodding. After seeing what he'd been looking for, he looked in her eyes, but was unable to see her pupils in the darkness. He lifted a hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Dunno. 'S dark."

Reno rolled his eyes, knowing perfectly well that she was avoiding answering. The moonlight was ample enough to see the silhouette of the fingers he was holding up. "Yuffie," he growled.

"Fine," she replied after a second. "I… dunno. Maybe… if you keep your hand… still and don't … cheat?"

Reno ignored the comment, reminded only of Elena at a time when they'd been stupid enough to let her get concussed. "Vision blurry?"

"… what d'you think?"

Reno shrugged and sat back a little, his eyes now roaming over the scene around them. "I think by the way you're avoiding my questions that you've got the headache to end all headaches, and most likely a concussion. But I can't tell."

"'m a little sleepy… yeah… "

Reno glanced at Yuffie, seeing her half-lidded eyes. "Had a concussion before?"

"… too many… "

Reno slapped her cheek lightly, frowning. "When was the last time you had one?"

"When we fought… last time… "

Reno's eyes widened slightly, but the alarm bells going off inside his head quietened as he realized that the two concussions weren't close enough to cause any major trouble. This… well, acting like this with a concussion was normal. "What last time?" he asked at length. "I don't remember-"

"In that plane. Under… water."

Reno's mouth fell open slightly. Actually, now reminded, he _did_ remember. Yuffie had said something smart and he'd gotten angry and whacked her upside the head with his nightstick. "Oh," he said.

"'Course that was just before… we kicked ya ass," Yuffie snickered.

"What did you say to me to make me do that?" he asked.

"Something 'long the lines of you bein'… a sorry excuse of a'soldier… even by Shinra standards…"

Oh yeah. That. He laughed bitterly. "Brat," he said, and got to his feet. "Wait there."

"Like y'need to tell me."

Reno rolled his eyes and dropped to his knees by her side again as he saw the eyelids struggle against the urge to close. "Idiot. Don't fall asleep, either. Donovan hasn't turned up yet, and I haven't seen or heard anything."

"He's… not dead?"

"Not likely. He's got something against dying."

"Oh. One of those."

Reno shook his head in bewilderment at her comment. Yuffie was lucid, but not enough so to be fully aware of what she was saying. Getting to his feet, he kept his sore arm at his side and used the other to push off the ground. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the ground again, but came up empty. It was quite possible that he'd overlooked something - but Donovan couldn't be that far off, surely. He looked back to the truck, then walked with careful steps toward the back of it. He ducked, peering under the base of it, keeping his guard up for a sneak attack, but saw nothing. He got to his feet, puzzled. "Where the hell…"

Reno turned around, expression wary. The scattered trees around them weren't really substantial enough to hide anyone behind, and there were no tracks leading toward them. The truck… well, it was a mess. His hopes that Donovan had been crushed to a bloody pulp by the base of the truck had been squashed when he'd looked. The only other thing was the river. Reno let his gaze slide dubiously over to the rippling water. He couldn't see anything floating, but that didn't mean that Donovan hadn't been thrown into it by the truck. It _was_ a plausible distance, but…

Reno frowned. It felt… off. Donovan wouldn't let himself drown. He was too stubborn. Unless…

Without thinking anymore about it, Reno found his feet taking him to the water's edge. He looked at the surface with a scowl, then waded a couple of steps in when nothing jumped out at him. The water, probably a clear blue-green in the daylight was nothing more than a waxy-looking, inky pool. Nothing other than the steady flow of the current broke the water. There were nothing more than a few twigs drifting steadily downstream. Overall, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

At all.

Reno scowled. No surprise. Donovan could be rather tricky when he didn't want to be seen or heard. He frowned, concentrating hard…

There was a short noise behind him – the sound of no more than a snapping twig and a startled yelp. Reno spun on his heel, ready to defend himself when he realized that Donovan hadn't been injured, or even hiding. Nor did he have any intention of attacking him directly - not yet at least. No, he'd been lying in wait somewhere until he had found an advantage. And as Reno eyed his ex-partner, now standing silently behind Yuffie, holding her weakly struggling form upright against him with one hand, Reno knew he'd found one.

"Still human, I see."

_Human_, _indeed_, a mocking voice in his mind mirrored. Inside, he pictured the haughty form of his devil-self suffering a violent, painful death. Outside, he kept his expression carefully neutral as his eyes washed over the scene before him with a feeling of growing horror. His eyes stopped on a glint of metal; a knife - Donovan's, held inches from Yuffie's exposed neck. Reno hid a scowl as Yuffie's hands came up to clench Donovan's arms in difficulty. Her struggles quickly ceased however, as she seemed to realize that escape, at least that way, was useless.

Reno let his eyes narrow of their own accord. Great. Leverage.

A flash of memory assailed him, but he shoved it away, keeping it far below the surface.

_Not again…_

"You did it again, didn't you, Reno?"

Reno lifted his eyes from the knife to Donovan's face, to his eyes. The look there, reflected by the beams from the truck's headlights, was a knowing one. He kept wisely silent, knowing the man before him would talk, given time. He was unarmed, injured, and by the appearance of his ex-partner, Donovan was neither of the above. Great. And, of course, Donovan was right…

"You've gotten yourself into the same mess as last time. You broke rule number one again, didn't you?"

Reno scowled. "Stop playing, Donovan."

"Why, Reno? Have I hit a sore point… again? Or have you still not learnt to deal with it? Ashley's dead. Dead as in not coming back. I'd imagine you know whose fault it is. I wouldn't have dreamed of killing the poor boy… until you interfered… but you know how I hate loose ends."

Another flash of memory, closer this time. A large wooden crate, a key, and a truck driving away in the distance…

"Asshole," Reno growled out.

"Yes, we've already established that. What we haven't, however, is what we're going to do with this one. Do you want another death on your hands, buddy?" Donovan yanked back on Yuffie's hair, eliciting a short yelp from the brunette.

Reno resisted the urge to clench his good hand into a fist, and instead took a step forward. He needed to find a way out of this situation. Donovan most likely didn't know who Yuffie was, or what she was to Wutai. If he did, Reno realized, the situation would be a lot more deadly. Donovan's motive would be to escape, and not remain here…

If he could just _try_ and reason then he could perhaps get Yuffie out of this… But he had to do it without letting him know _who_ she was…

"Face it, Reno. You're not finding a way out of this one. You're stuck in a rut."

"And you aren't?" he countered. "You're on the run from everyone, even me!"

"And you aren't?" Donovan laughed coldly. "You're a Turk! You're still at the very bottom of the food chain, despite the status you thought you had. It was all a dream… why do you think I got out of the Turks? They were my ticket from the slums, sure enough, but I have better things going for me now. And _you _sure aren't the saviour you'd like to be, so I'm sure you see what I'm getting at. You're hated. There aren't many things worse than a paid assassin for the Shinra, my friend…"

Reno smirked bitterly. "No. But I can certainly tell that you're one of those 'things'. Don't you get sick of-"

"Sneaking my way out of things? Using people? Definitely not. You do that for a living, remember? Creeping along with the gutter trash, getting rid of the people who others are too weak to finish off. You're just a tool. I can kill who I like, when I like. For me. And I still get paid more."

Reno's eyes flashed. "What about hiding behind people, _partner_? I would have imagined you'd think that weak. But then again… I suppose that does classify as using people… you always were a little too good at that."

A raised eyebrow and an ascension of a head in acknowledgement.

"What's the matter?" Reno continued, eyes flashing. "Can't deal with things on your own?"

Reno saw the cold glint return to Donovan's eyes. Good, so he was thinking, perhaps eve about what he'd said. And though he knew he'd never turn him, Reno knew how Donovan's mind worked. They were both stubborn, but if he could convince the other man to fight him instead of taking hostages, then…

Reno paused, frowning. Time for a change in tactics. "So I'm a loose end, huh?" he asked negligently.

"Somewhat, yeah."

"And Ashley was a loose end."

"Of course. He certainly wasn't anything else useful, that's for sure. Couldn't even do his job right."

Reno ignored the offhand comment and pointed at Yuffie and shrugged. "So what is she?"

Donovan looked down at the person he was holding, then back to Reno. "That depends."

"On what? Your mood?" Reno asked snidely.

The corner of Donovan's mouth twitched. "No. On what she is to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well who is she, Reno? She's not a Turk, that's for sure. Is she another stray you adopted, a misfit you used to get out of a situation who you just couldn't leave behind?"

Reno snorted at the term misfit, it was surprisingly apt. "Hardly."

"Then what?"

Reno's eyes flicked to Yuffie, noticing that the situation had proven to make her a little more lucid, and though there was a glint of fear in her eye he realized that she knew what was going on, and was thinking hard, even now looking to play on Donovan's lack of attention to her. Her mouth moved faintly when she caught his eye, outlining a word, and Reno's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. He returned his gaze to Donovan's without so much as a change in expression. He wasn't close enough to do anything, but Yuffie looked as if she had an idea, as if she was going to try something…

Something had to be better than nothing. Donovan couldn't win again, and Yuffie's safety was already threatened…

"What _is_ she, Reno?"

_Misfit…_

The corner of Reno's mouth curved upward ever so slightly. He opted for the truth, albeit a slightly altered version. "A tagalong," he said simply.

Donovan raised his eyebrows faintly, lifting the knife a little to run it up along Yuffie's shoulder, then down her partly exposed collarbone. The weapon paused and his gaze flickered to his captive for just a moment, before his glinting Mako eyes returned to Reno's own. "_Just _a tagalong? Nothing more?"

Reno shrugged, his eyes returning to Yuffie's own slightly clearer ones. She nodded faintly, a movement barely perceptible in the near darkness. "Nothing more," he repeated.

_She can't be anything more…_

Donovan seemed to think this over for a second, then offered a casual shrug of his own, a smirk creeping all-too easily onto his face. "Well, if that's the case," he began, "then you won't mind if I try this out? I haven't had the chance to use it in quite a while, and my hand's just itching to give it a go." The knife glimmered a little brighter, catching directly on the headlights, and the open threat hung heavily in the air despite the conversational tone.

Reno cocked his head slightly to the side, his eyes drifting lazily over to Yuffie's appraisingly in order to keep up appearances. "Not _really_," he lied slowly, expression carefully calm. "I didn't ask her to come along."

_Whatever you're going to do, brat, do it now…_

Donovan tilted his head down to Yuffie, his expression coy. "And what about you?" he asked her lightly, the knife running down her neck again with pressure enough to cause a slight mark, but not yet enough to break skin. An amused glint crept into his icy eyes. "Do _you_ mind?"

Reno watched as Yuffie lolled her head a little, whispering something under her breath in what appeared to be distress. Donovan, seeing this, gave her more leniency and dropped his guard ever so slightly. Reno clenched his teeth together as he watched the situation begin to unfold. _Come on…_

Donovan leaned in further with a smirk, practically breathing down her neck. The knife lifted, preparing to strike. "What was that, stray?"

"… said… I might have something to _say_ about _that_!"

Reno watched as Yuffie, before apparently holding herself up only a little, rocked backward in Donovan's grip in an attempt to catch the man further off guard and force him to take all her weight. It worked. As the man tipped backward with an angry yell, she kicked backward with a foot and then an elbow. At the added force the ex-Turk stumbled further, his armed hand flying outward in an effort to rebalance himself. Reno watched as Yuffie darted to the side in order to try and get away at the opening an–

"Bitch!"

But not quite. One of Donovan's hands shot out and snagged Yuffie's as she moved, and though she wasn't fully out of action anymore, she still hadn't been ready for that. Yanked in the direction Donovan was falling, Yuffie stumbled dizzily back into the man, causing them both to collapse backward to the ground from the momentum.

Reno sprinted forward just as he saw Donovan flip the brunette sideways, as he leaned over her, holding her hair tightly to tip her head back. The ever-present knife was suddenly back against her neck, and Donovan's lips were pulled into a thin, hard line.

This time it was clear – he wasn't messing around. The knife began to swipe sideways…

And before he could look anymore into it, or think about the risk involved in what he was doing, Reno dived.

The impact was solid, and the two men rolled haphazardly sideways, off Yuffie and onto the mucky grass. Reno ignored the pain of his shoulder and side, and instead concentrated fiercely on getting the upper hand. It became clear to him, as the two scrambled for the advantage after the impromptu tackle, that Donovan's knife had been knocked out of his hand by the impact, and as they rolled yet again Reno cast a quick glance in the direction in which he had last seen Yuffie.

One glimpse was enough. Yuffie was lying slightly away from them, her form limp on the ground, one hand clasped tightly to her shoulder in order to stem the steady flow of blood leaking out from the deflected knife slash. Her eyes, before showing some semblance of clarity, were half-lidded and dull from the onset of further pain. Donovan may have not killed her, but he had wounded her, and made things a lot more difficult.

Phantom pain swept along his scars, and a momentary flash of memory bubbled joyously to the surface despite it's master's orders…

_The knife sweeping out; once, twice.__ The burning pain… _

_Like a nightmare, isn't it? _

_Hopeless…__ Do you enjoy being human?_

Reno felt a surge of rage burnt in him and he darted forward. He didn't even notice the fist that connected with his cheek, nor the knee that dug into his side. With his good arm he punched out, rolling over slightly to avoid another fist in the gut. It was when he was doing this that he noticed something shiny not a few metres away. Recognizing the form of the knife, he leapt at the chance, and kicked out at Donovan in order to break free to reach it.

But, apparently, Donovan had seen it too.

Two strong hands grabbed one of Reno's ankles, preventing him from reaching the dormant weapon. With a yell of frustration and anger, Reno kicked backward, but found his other foot quickly contained as well. Knowing that he wasn't going to reach the knife that way, he twisted his body around and sat up, punching Donovan once in the face, and then in the throat.

The last blow was blocked, however, and Donovan launched himself quickly to his feet and tackled Reno backward, taking them both within a closer proximity to the knife. Knowing what was going to happen if Donovan ended up getting on top in the tackle, Reno made the extra effort to twist his body more, away from his injured shoulder, but Donovan saw this too. A gloved hand grabbed his hurt upper arm as he tried to lever himself upward, and yanked. Hard.

Reno couldn't stop himself from letting out a pained yell, then another when Donovan rolled him onto his back and pressed a fist into his side once again. Reno fell back, gasping for breath, letting his injured arm lie still, reaching out with his other to where he had last remembered the knife was. His hand knocked against something and he began to close his fist over it--

But his ex-partner, now leaning above him menacingly, snatched it from his grasp and looked down at him with a cruel smirk that would have once mirrored his own.

"What good is it going to do?" Donovan asked. "You won't kill me."

Reno's eyes went cold. "Why not?" he asked icily. "I fucking well want to."

"Well I don't see how," the other man replied nonchalantly, offering a brief shrug that was at considerable odds for the situation the two were in. "You still haven't learnt from your past mistake with Ashley, and you let _her_ get hurt." Donovan cast his eyes sideways to Yuffie, and Reno followed his gaze. "They say that history always repeats itself, I guess you're just another victim, ay _buddy_? Want me to shove her in a box and send her away, too, and let you fumble your chance to save her… again?"

Reno let out an irritated breath as he saw the knife come up out of the corner of his eye, twirling around like a child's toy in Donovan's grip. _No, _he told himself. _You are _not_ toying with _me_…_ With a speed that his physically exhausted body should never had been able to accomplish, he sat up and threw a punch at Donovan's exposed ribs, then followed through with an elbow thrust just under the chin. Before Donovan could recover he rolled to the side and got quickly to his feet, ignoring the dizziness that threatened to make him fall flat on his face.

"That's better," he said, shrugging a shoulder and cracking his neck, ignoring the way the ground seemed to rock and sway. "You always were a little heavy."

Donovan got to his feet and Reno watched as he touched a hand lightly to his jaw. Something glinted in the half-light as Donovan's fingers pulled away from the area, and Reno realized it was blood. He smirked, and ignored his momentary surprise. "Oh good. I was beginning to think that you didn't bleed at all. Here was me thinking that _you_ weren't human…"

"Lucky shot," Donovan snapped, lips pulled into a snarl.

"Probably," Reno replied, raising a fist and falling back into a defensive stance. There was nothing in his way now, with Yuffie at the side and no other civilians to worry about. It occurred to him that if he got this fight over and done with, and he _won_, well… Reno cast a sidelong glance at Yuffie. He had to do this. As Donovan had said, all loose ends would be tied. "Want to see if I can do it again?"

Donovan snorted, a derisive and bitterly mocking sound. The knife that had been half-raised fell even further to his side, and his stance visibly relaxed. "You're kidding me."

"Not really. Despite my job I don't really do this shit for fun."

Donovan raised an eyebrow. "Really? It's ironically amusing, all things considered."

"Your sense of humour always did leave a lot to be desired." Reno cocked his head to the side, raising his hand and clenching and unclenching his fist meaningfully. "So?" he asked. "You up for it?"

Donovan lifted his chin in agreement, expression smug. "Definitely. You on the other hand…"

"Am just peachy. What are you, scared to fight an injured man? You've never worried about it before…"

Donovan raised the knife and fell into a fighting stance at the words, shaking his head in disbelief and taking slow steps to the side. Reno mimicked his movements and they began circling each other, step by step, at identical pace.

Donovan was the first to make a move and break the design, lunging forward with the knife and making a vicious swipe. Reno dodged to the side, spinning backward expertly to face his ex-partner. He took further step backward and it was his turn to shake his head in disbelief. He raised an arm in question. "You're fighting me with a knife? What are you… afraid? Did all that time in the underground fill your head with rubbish?"

Donovan snarled. "What do you know about it?"

Reno shrugged. Donovan had always hated to be questioned. "Nothing, I guess. Only that you're going to fight someone with a dislocated shoulder, a gunshot wound to the side and Leviathan-knows what other injuries with a _knife_. You aren't even hurt and you're using dirty tactics."

Donovan looked amused. "Complaining, Reno?"

Reno offered a conspiratory wink and measured a tiny distance between two fingers. " Just a little. I thought you always liked a good fight. Or, at least, you used to. Then again, I've fought you twice in the past few days and you've used dirty tactics both times. You're corrupted – go figure you're going to cheat."

"Coming from a Shinra bastard who's too stupid and stubborn to know when to quit…"

"… So… " Reno left the question hanging in the air. Donovan had always been cocky, nearly as much as him on occasion. He _would_ take up this offer. He wasn't one to have his pride questioned…

Not when he was so sure he was going to win.

"If you say so," Donovan replied, and with a careless shrug he dropped the knife. The weapon's blade bit deeply into the soil and remained upright, momentarily forgotten. Reno watched with relief as Donovan brought his fists up and fell back into a fighting stance that had, in the past, been nearly as familiar as his own.

Reno grinned, despite himself enjoying the adrenaline that was flooding through his body. This was his chance to fix everything and set the record straight. He cracked his neck and stepped forward. "Let's dance."

"… And all for a couple of brats."

The fight resumed.

* * *

The ground was cold and mucky. The wind, infrequent as it was, was icy. But her body… her body felt like it was on fire anyway. Yuffie shivered – not from the cold, but from the wave of burning pain that was flooding through her body. A small moan escaped her lips, and she rolled a little to the side, her hand pressing weakly against the slash that ran over her collarbone and onto her shoulder. She felt weak and dizzy, her stomach turned, and yet she knew it had nothing to do with the blood she was losing, nor the bump to her head.

Yuffie cast her eyes down, lifting her neck in order to examine the glistening blood seeping from her wound. Something was seriously wrong, and she was beginning to have some idea what it was. A sick feeling washed over her as the conversation she'd had with Reno in the car echoed in her mind, and she remembered the drug that Reno had mentioned. She frowned. It wasn't like she hadn't believed him, but… she hadn't expected it to work so… fast…

Or so strongly.

But did that really matter now?

She let her head drop to the ground, eyes turning away from the sight of the wound as another wave of pain rolled over her. Her hand, before on her shoulder, slipped to the patchy grass. With frightening realization Yuffie realized her strength was deserting her, being replaced with a fire that shot through her nerves, increasing to breaking point anytime she moved, overwhelming her each time she tried to inhale. Yuffie felt her air intake grow more infrequent, and she knew the shallow breaths she was drawing in order to stay conscious weren't helping. Reno was right. This wasn't a normal wound.

It was hell.

Rolling onto her side with a low hiss of irritation, Yuffie dragged open eyes that were threatening to close. Through a growing haze of grey static and dizziness she watched the two silhouettes outlined by the truck's headlights as they began to trade blows. Through the increasing buzzing in her ears that seemed to reverberate through her entire head she managed to catch snippets of conversation, but nothing of use. Reality began to blur, acquired a dreamlike quality. Began to fade.

And time was still moving on.

Yuffie would have punched something in frustration if she had been able to gather the strength. As it was, she had no idea how long she lay prone, her half-lidded eyes watching as Reno and Donovan fought. It felt like forever. Or perhaps it was just a few moments drawn out into what only seemed like that long. Either way, it was cruel and not worth dwelling on.

And she was so tired.

But she _couldn't _sleep, the pain was so great anyway and so was her fear of the outcome. She wouldn't _let_ herself.

_But it would be so simple to just give up, wouldn't it…?_

Yuffie forced her eyes open again at the internal voice, and bit her lip in determination in order to wake herself more. The blow to her head from when she'd hit the steering wheel wasn't helping. Nor was the fact the she hadn't slept in… how many days?

_Sleep_… _Go on…_

Her hands formed fists, through the burning pain of the drug she felt her fingernails carve tiny half-moons into the palms of her hand. She would not give up. She'd managed to get this far. And what would happen if she left Reno to fight Donovan alone. What if he needed help?

_… But what are you going to do to help him?_

A low growl formed in her throat and she forced her uncooperative body onto her stomach, aware of the sweat beading on her brow from the simple exertion she was causing herself. Sure that if she tried she could press herself further, Yuffie tried to get onto her hands and knees. But as her palms pressed against the ground, yet another burst of liquid fire shot from her shoulder to her hands, and her minimal progress was stopped as her arms, shaking from her weight and the agony, collapsed underneath her. With a grunt of pain Yuffie let her body sink to the ground, and her face tipped to the side…

Toward Reno and Donovan.

Dimly, from what seemed like miles away, Yuffie watched as the fight continued. Blurred black outlines waltzed in crazy patterns, and not even the cool feeling of mud squelching against her fevered cheek and into her eyes could break her pain-filled reverie. The already limited colour in her vision began to dull, then faded out completely. Sound disappeared, until all that was left was the pain. She wasn't even really aware that she was finally allowing her eyes to close until something disturbing caught her evaporating sight…

Something shiny.

Yuffie's eyes snapped open and she started, momentarily ignoring the pain and the unconscious gasp that slipped from her lips as what she had just seen solidified before her eyes. Slowly – almost painfully so – her vision began to fade back in around the object, like a bizarre kind of zoom, and the scene she was left with caused her almost as much horror as what was going on inside her body.

Donovan kicked out viciously, suddenly, and Yuffie watched as Reno's legs were swiped out from under him. The already injured Turk stumbled backward, and at the show of weakness his ex-partner threw another series of punches to his already existing injuries as he fell. Seconds later the two were on the ground, Donovan leaning forward, kneeling over and pinning Reno's prone form, one hand pressed firmly against his throat.

But that wasn't what worried her. No, it was the hand slowly snaking its way toward a glinting object partly concealed by the cuff of Donovan's pants that had caught her attention.

Cold realization filled her, and a squeak of protest escaped her lips as she watched Reno's partially uncovered good arm claw the ground unknowingly just beyond her. With teeth she hadn't even known were chattering, Yuffie tried to form a word around uncooperative lips, tried to warn Reno about what Donovan was doing behind his back. Some small sound she made must have been good enough, as with relief-filled eyes she watched Reno's own Mako gaze flick over to her.

"Kn-Knife," she mouthed, lifting the hand lying closest to her and making a strained cut-throat gesture across her throat. "He has… another knife."

Reno's eyebrows drew together, but he turned away from her. Whether he understood her or not he gave no sign, instead facing back to his ex-partner with a bitter expression. With growing fright and a cold pool forming in the base of her stomach that did little to counteract the fire running through her veins, Yuffie realized that Reno wasn't ignoring her. He was out of options, and trying to think of something that could help him. And watching her mutter unintelligible phrases wasn't going to help things. The look in his eyes came back to her, and she sucked in a sharp breath. _Tell me something I don't know_, they had said.

Yuffie's eyes widened and a lump formed in her throat. He needed a distraction. Anything that would even the field.

_… A persuasive one,_ her mind added.

Yuffie's eyes frantically scavenged the area around them for something of use. Her eyes landed on the first knife embedded in the ground a few metres away. Even as she recognized the possibility, though, a sinking feeling hit her, as she knew that no matter the desperation, she would never make it in time to the weapon. Not with her body resisting so fiercely. Desperately, her eyes raked over the area around them, over the items that had fallen and scattered out of the truck when they'd rolled in order to find something closer, more useful.

Many objects that were of use lay too far away, just like the knife, and those that were close to her seemed to be worthless. She had just about given up, was ready to attempt to crawl over and merely collapse on Donovan again if need be, but she knew that she couldn't even if she wanted to. She rolled onto her back and tipped her head upward as a feeling of desolation moved over her. Why did time always work against them? What was wrong with the fates, anyway…

That was when her eyes saw the bag of scattered objects she'd collected in Trent before they'd made their hasty getaway.

It had been lying directly above from her, not a metre away from the top of her head, perhaps the reason why she hadn't noticed straight away. The impact on the ground as well as the tumble out of the truck's shattered window had caused the sports bag to split and spill everything everywhere. Including close to her.

Clenching her teeth, Yuffie strained her arm upward, her fingers clawing out across the ground in an effort to reach anything there she could get her hands on. Most of the materia she'd stolen lay too far away, the others low-level and too weak. But there were other things. She strained her arm further and…

The pain paid off. Her fingers brushed against something, and with a crow of triumph she grabbed the closest thing that looked to be of reasonable weight, and forced her hand to continue to grip it. With parted lips and laboured breath she swung it around, flinging it with her remaining strength in Reno's direction, toward the hand lying closest to her, hoping he would get the gist, before collapsing back to the ground, again unable to do anything more than watch as the knife was unsheathed and began to descend…

She prayed.

It would have to be enough. It would _have to_…

* * *

He knew what came next.

Reno felt Donovan's burning gaze more than the hands on his throat. More than the weight on his chest, side and shoulder he felt the impending doom of the knife, felt the dreadful sound of it sliding out of the oiled sheath. And he knew what it meant…

What it always meant.

_Get your ass into gear, idiot_, he reprimanded himself, meeting his ex-partner's expression with one of his own. He broke the contact first, looked around, catching Yuffie's gaze momentarily. He watched with expressionless eyes as she crawled onto her side, lifted an arm with obvious struggle, and made a cut-throat gesture across her throat. Her lips, shivering with the concentration, formed words that came out in a croaked whisper. He looked back to Donovan, to the arm that had supposedly unbeknownst to him moved away.

_Tell me something I don't know…_ he echoed to Yuffie as the weapon appeared. Without thought, he examined the knife, noting that it was smaller. Less significant. Even as he willed his body to ready in order to deflect the blade with his own arm if need be, Reno felt his body ache with the need for rest, felt his own tried nerves try to persuade him to let it be ended, and just get it over with. No more trying.

Reno scowled. Yeah right. His mind raced while his eyes locked with Donovan's. The knife came up, paused in midair.

"Guess you missed your chance, _buddy_," Donovan leered, teeth flashing. And the look , the angle of the knife, and the set of the strong shoulders implied victory. "Too bad you've lost again. But you still don't seem to understand that you're only human, after all."

The knife began to descend, and time blurred.

Something brushed against his fingers. Something rough, but at the same time pliable, and soft. With an expression that he didn't grant the luxury to change, Reno acted before thinking. He gripped the object, formed a fist, tensed the muscles on his partly free arm…

And swung.

The blow, improvised and completely reckless, had been a final effort of defense and left him unguarded, but that no longer mattered. The swinging object, unidentified in the darkness, arched upward viciously, paralleling the knife's own deadly curve nearly identically. The momentum carried it upward, and just before gravity decided to take effect…

There were two thuds, a yell…

And then silence.

* * *

**_Author's Notes:_**_ Hey there! Another update! This chapter is a great deal longer than the others, but I'm pretty sure you all won't mind. I didn't want to cut it off at some odd place. The story is nearly done now, so this slight cliffie shouldn't leave you annoyed at me too long. I hope. crosses fingers The next chapter is well on its way to being posted. Enjoy, and don't forget to review? Please? _

**Tijuana**** Pirate:** Hehe… Uh… what was that about cliffhangers…? Winces I'm sorry… I really am. But I'm nearly done. And there was really no other plausible places to end it. Don't worry, like the other most recent ones, the next update isn't far away.

**The Burning Misery: **Thanks you for your comments on the realism. I like writing action-segments and I was hoping that I had managed to pull that part off successfully without making it seem… too, cheesy, I guess. I'm glad I have your approval. Hopefully your opinion does not change with this latest chapter?

**Eternal Wanderer: **Lol… like an action movie? Yeah, I guess so, huh? Ah well, what can I say? I hate dull scenes! I hope you don't hate it too much! As to dealing with more than a couple of characters at once, I haven't really thought about it too much. I usually deal with characters as I perceive them, so as long as I have a clear grasp on what their purpose is in the scene, etc, I usually don't have much trouble. But you're right – it can get difficult with multiple characters. Of course, it doesn't help that in this story Reno and Yuffie are on the run by themselves. And don't worry… We'll get to the others fairly soon. Nearly there…

See you all next update!

Ealinesse.


	11. Only Human

**Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,**

**By Ealinesse**

****

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. And a rusty truck that, _apparently,_ Reno and Yuffie don't want any more… Woohoo.

**Summary:** A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane.

**Warnings:** Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language, Violence.

**Category:** Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Angst, Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie Arguing… Nothing too unusual, really.

* * *

**Chapter Ten... Human.**

* * *

_The knife began to descend, and time blurred._

_Something brushed against his fingers. Something rough, but at the same time pliable, and soft. With an expression that he didn't grant the luxury to change, __Reno__ acted before thinking. He gripped the object, formed a fist, tensed the muscles on his partly free arm… _

_And swung._

_The blow, improvised and completely reckless, had been a final effort of defense and left him unguarded, but that no longer mattered. The swinging object, unidentified in the darkness, arched upward viciously, paralleling the knife's own deadly curve nearly identically. The momentum carried it upward, and just before gravity decided to take effect…_

_There were two thuds, a yell…_

_And then silence._

* * *

Reno felt the weight of the object he was swinging tug painfully at his sore muscles, and with a grunt of obvious effort and just a hint of desperation he forced his arm to work harder. As the knife came down he felt the satisfying thump of the item connecting with the side of Donovan's head. A brief, angered yell of pain was forced from between his ex-partners lips as he was knocked sideways, onto the grass, successfully 'distracted'. But even as he watched the events unfold Reno felt a sharp, biting pain flare across his collarbone that helped to distill the unreal feeling that came with seeing Donovan fall.

With delayed realization Reno discovered that the blade Donovan had been aiming for his throat had instead swiped his collarbone, before going clammering to the grass just beside the fallen man. A hiss of pain formed on his lips, but he allowed himself no time for that. Donovan was trying to get up.

This time he did groan as he forced his aching body to not only get to its knees, but to stand. He swayed a little, then steadied as Donovan rolled around on the ground, holding the side of his head, fingers glistening with fresh blood. Reno's eyes narrowed, and he cocked his head to the side, an unreadable expression on his face. For a moment he allowed his eyes to drift over to Yuffie, then without a word he made his way over to the original knife embedded in the ground. He lifted the weapon, examined it for a moment, but didn't make a move.

Nor did Donovan.

Reno's eyes narrowed more as he watched the man writhe in pain on the damp grass. Something was wrong, and it wasn't that Donovan was trying to get up… it was that he was _still_ trying. He looked closer as the man seemed to try to rise, then fail miserably. It happened a second time, and finally a third. Then it occurred to him what was happening. Reno watched as the movements Donovan was making brought him closer to his dropped second knife. The progression was so slow and uneventful that it was barely noticeable…

At least, not to someone who had never fallen for that particular trick.

"Not again," Reno whispered slowly, memory flashing back to the scene in the alley days before, to the all-too familiar pain in his side. "No more tricks, and no more lies. You're not fooling me like that again. It's time to end this."

And as the other man was about to complete his move, to no doubt turn around with a victorious snarl, to begin to pick up the dropped blade, Reno changed his grip on the knife, balancing it in his grip with his good hand. As Donovan rose, Reno lifted his own arm back, and his eyes flashed coldly. His lips drew into a thin, cruel line.

"Your turn," he bit out, and let the knife fly.

It didn't even take a second for the blade to reach Donovan, but regardless it seemed like forever. Reno watched in morbid fascination as the dagger spun through the air, flashing in an intense blur of flurried movement, before hitting its target just as he reached the other knife. There was a forceful, agonized howl as Donovan was flung backward, twisting slightly with the momentum of the unexpected impact, before he landed on the ground, hands struggling to remove the knife now buried deeply in his back.

Reno stood there for a second, watching as his friend of another time began to writhe on the ground in earnest. Finally, a strange sort of calm moved over him and he felt suddenly steady legs carry him over to Donovan. Before he knew what he was doing, he'd kicked the second blade out of reach and rolled the man onto his back, ignoring the sluggishly bleeding wound and the protruding hilt.

Donovan's eyes flared as the pain increased with the pressure, but he didn't make a sound of protest. Reno returned the cold glare with a steady gaze of his own and crouched beside the fallen man.

"… In the back," Donovan gasped after a second.

"A knife in the back," Reno repeated. "Just like you were kind enough to do to me." He reached behind the man, lifted him slightly, and grasped the weapon's hilt firmly. Without a word of warning he ripped it free, and this time he was rewarded with a gasp and a fierce curse.

When Donovan had recovered, he looked up with eyes that held more than hate. "You won't… kill me."

Reno smirked, the expression slipping onto his face easily considering the circumstances. "You forget what I still do for a living, my _friend_, not to mention what my orders were. Things are a little different now that you've gone and pissed me off."

Donovan snorted, then sucked in a choking breath when it hurt. "It won't… change anything."

"Wrong. It'll change a lot."

"It won't bring Ashley… back."

"No. But then, I already knew that."

"Did you?" Donovan's hand moved up to the collar of his shirt, and Reno felt his own eyes following it. A slight jingle and a glint of metal later Reno felt his momentary alarm fade as he spotted the tiny item that had been spiting him for years. "And what are you going to do… now that… you've realized that? Hunt the boy down? Bury him? What good… will it do? I saw you searching… the rubble after Meteor, Reno. You didn't… find anything, did you? You were too late to save him… what's the point in hanging in the past… like that… if nothing good can come from it?"

Reno's hand snapped out and grabbed the chain, yanking it free from Donovan's neck and letting it hang in the air for a moment before he examined the tiny golden key attached. "You forget one thing," Reno said slowly, his eyes drifting over to those of his ex-partner's. "Once you're gone, Donovan, I won't have a past."

Donovan grinned, but Reno could see the pain, not to mention the flecks of glimmering crimson beading on his lips. "If only because… you have no one… left."

Reno shrugged a shoulder. "It will be more than you'll have. Where are all your men now, Donovan? You chased me and her down practically by yourself to finish me off, and are instead left with nothing. Your men without a leader. Bad move, _buddy_."

He was greeted with silence, one which only had a little to do with Donovan's will to ignore him. From where he kneeled he could see the shaking beginning to take over the other man's body, the slight shivering of his lips. The eyes, glowing fiercely in the darkness, were dulling from exposure to the drug. Reno watched a slight pool of blood well up in the corner of Donovan's mouth, trickle down his cheek, and he realized that his aim must have been better than he'd thought. A punctured lung, perhaps? Reno listened, and the sound of wet, laboured breathing alerted him to the fact that his guess was probably right.

Reno leaned forward, placed the key aside for a second, and gripped the original knife, running it lightly over Donovan's cheek. "I guess it's going to be me tying up loose ends tonight. Not you." He pressed the keen edge of the blade slightly firmer, then took it away. A line of crimson not so dissimilar to his own appeared on the skin. Donovan gasped and tried to turn away, to swipe his hand, but Reno stopped him easily this time.

"Aww, Donovan. Can't you handle a taste of your own medicine?"

Donovan's face was bitter. "Just end it, asshole."

"Hey," Reno said lightly, and flicked the knife out again to make an identical mark on the other cheek. "You are what you are, remember?"

"So you… won. _Finish it_."

"You sound like that's impossible."

There was a short laugh, then a wet cough. "I thought it… was."

Reno smirked. "Assumptions are the mother of all fuck ups, remember? I seem to remember learning that lesson fairly well in the past."

"_End_ it, Reno. I seem… to recall you telling me… to stop toying… earlier. So take… your _own advice._ Or are you… too scared?"

"You think this is toying?" Reno chuckled darkly, his eyes at odds with his expression. "I could decide not to kill you, to leave you to rot in a cell alone for years, let you suffer your own thoughts and speculations about your fate and how you failed. But you know what?" he added after second. "I'll end it, right here, if only to prove at last that I'm not like _you_."

"No. You're-"

"Human," Reno finished for him, placing the knife against Donovan's throat. "And an imperfect, asshole of a Turk at that."

Donovan had no answer for that, only lifted a weak hand and pressed down slightly on the blade of the knife in resentful impatience. "Do it," he hissed. "Prove your… point. Live and weep that… that you… failed."

Reno shook his head. "Not this time, Donovan. Not fucking ever." And before he could stop himself he let his arm do the work. He swiped, pressing down hard, ignoring the sudden gush of blood and the gurgling gasp of pain. He kept his eyes instead on Donovan's, and as the light began to fade from the dying man's own blue Mako pools, Reno cocked his head to the side. "I win," he said eventually. "_You_ failed."

When the glow finally dulled, and the man slumped backward, Reno dropped the knife with suddenly nerveless fingers. He sat there for a moment, numb. Not-so-steady hands grabbed for the thin gold chain, and placed it around his neck in a fumbled knot. The metal, still warm from where it had been resting around Donovan's own neck, felt genuine despite the ethereal quality that was threatening to wash over him. Without thinking a hand reached out to feel Donovan's wrist, to examine the pulse that was no longer there. He withdrew his arm, dropped it to his lap, and shook his head, a slow, tired grin creeping onto his face.

"Well, mission… accomplished," he said, voice slightly amused. With a grunt he pulled himself to his feet and retrieved the two blades. With a limp that he struggled to ignore, Reno made his way over to where Yuffie was lying. He crouched by her side, rolled her gently onto her back, and when her eyes didn't open he placed two fingers under her jaw.

"… f'fuck… your hands're… cold, Turk."

Reno jumped slightly, winced when it hurt, then focused an annoyed gaze on the single hazel eye that had crept lazily open.

"…you're still… alive?"

Reno smirked at the tone that crept through her weak, quiet voice. "Don't sound so disappointed."

"Donovan… he dead?"

"And gone," Reno commented.

The corners of Yuffie's mouth twitched, and the other eye crept open. "'bout fuckin' time."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "Nobody's arguing with you there, brat." He shuffled around to her other side, not bothering to waste the energy to stand, and leaned over the gash in her shoulder. He frowned. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone's set… my body… on fire."

"You feeling sick? Dizzy?"

"Jus' dizzy. Headache."

"Not going to pass out?"

"… Dunno."

"Can you sit up?"

"… Wouldn't bet on… it."

"Right." He placed his hands by the wound across her collarbone, angling himself better so the light would let him see it more clearly. The gash wasn't very deep, which was a good thing as far as the drug was concerned, but it was reasonably long, starting just below her collarbone and ending centimetres before the junction of her shoulder. It wasn't enough to kill her, Reno realized, just enough to cause some serious pain. Only repeated injections of that amount would affect her, even without past Mako infusions. Of course, it could cause problems if they stayed out in this cold for too long. Finished, and more relieved than he was willing to admit, he rocked back on his heels and let himself land gracelessly on his ass. "Is it getting any worse?"

"N't really… jus' hurts… lots. Can't really… move much…no energy. Wasted t'all on tryin'… to save your… sorry… ass. Work… okay?"

Reno raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the silhouette of the item he'd used to distract Donovan. "Worked fine," he said after a second.

"So… who owes… who now?"

Reno began counting the score for a second, then gave up. His exhausted brain wasn't ready to cope with anything logical just yet… if ever. He eyed Yuffie with a slightly amused expression, before shrugging. "Pass."

"… Yeah… lost count, too…"

"What say we just call it even?"

"… 'kay." Yuffie's eyes began to slip closed.

"Hey," Reno said, reaching out and slapping her cheek lightly. "Trust me, you don't want to fall asleep right now."

"… do… so."

"Oi!" he said a little louder, voice a little more serious. "You're concussed, you can't sleep or pass out. Stay _awake_."

Yuffie cracked one eye open, then the other. A thin eyebrow raised, and she poked out her tongue. "Jerk… not fair… you got to... pass out."

Reno didn't say anything, and they fell into silence for a couple of minutes, simply basking in the fact that they were both still alive. Eventually, Reno pushed off the ground and got to his feet, his eyes catching on Donovan's body for only a moment before passing it by. It was time to leave. He faced the truck and scowled. Like _that_ was going to do them any good.

"what… now?"

 Reno glanced back down at Yuffie, and winced. "We get out of here."

"what… about all this… mess?"

"Reeve'll have someone clean it up. Rude, Elena and me are done with this shit for a while." He didn't bother to voice the fact that he didn't know where Elena and Rude were, or whether they'd made it to Junon themselves. Donovan hadn't said anything, but…

"So… to Junon?"

"To Junon," Reno muttered, realizing what it meant.

"Wait," Yuffie said when he began to crouch beside her. "When I went out… there was some… materia. Cure, I think. But… "

Reno got back to his feet and looked around. Sure enough, by the spilt bag of equipment that Yuffie had managed to steal he spotted a series of scattered, familiar, faintly glowing green stones. Reno made his way over the group which had previously been out of Yuffie's reach, examined them, and picked a couple out. "They're weak," he said after a moment, "but there's a Cure Materia here, as well as a Stage One Heal."

"… good."

"But," Reno continued, with a disgusted expression on his face. "There isn't a lot of guts in them. We're going to have to use it sparingly." Without another word he crouched beside her, closed his eyes, and concentrated. A warm green glow spread around Yuffie's prone form for a moment before fading out. Reno watched as the gash on her shoulder closed, as well as the one above her eyebrow. All that was left was a slight bruise, and the paleness of her skin. The cut on her cheek also disappeared, he noticed, and didn't leave so much as a scar. He nodded in satisfaction.

"A little better?"

"Yeah…" Yuffie said after a moment. "But-"

"Still burning?" Reno guessed.

"Uh-huh."

"It will," Reno said with a bitter shrug, one hand going to his own scars. "You just have to let it run its way out of your system. It shouldn't be too bad for long - that cut was shallow. I'd wager not a lot of the toxin got in, especially since he didn't hit where he was aiming. You just need to rest and let it wear itself out."

"Sleep?" Yuffie asked, hopefully, sounding for all the world like that was all she cared about.

"Not quite." Reno snorted. "Cures don't heal concussions, either. Nice try, though."

"… useless," he heard Yuffie mutter. "Days without… sleep… and now… that it's over… I still bloody can't."

"Bitch, bitch, bitch," Reno retorted. Closing his eyes again, he gauged the little remaining power left in the Cure, and cast it over himself. The emerald blaze returned again, visible even through his closed eyelids, and he knew more than felt the wound on his side, and the newer one on his shoulder, begin to close. He knew that with how weak this Materia was, that it wouldn't be able to heal his dislocated shoulder, but even so it made him feel better.

_Feeling some semblance of human again…?_

Reno snickered at the thought.

"Better?" Yuffie asked.

"Much," he replied, feeling the intense ache in his limbs subside slightly. He looked back to the bag, then began filtering through it. "What else do you have in there?"

"Nothing much. Just random… junk. There was… some-"

"You stole _cigarettes_?" Reno exclaimed as his hands closed over several small packets.

"Said… you were dyin'… for a smoke…"

Reno didn't say anything in reply. Instead, he selected a packet, tore it open, and pulled one out, thanking whatever sick god there was up there that at least none of them had been snapped. He began rifling through the bag again when it occurred to him that he had nothing to light it with. After a moment he came across another materia, a Stage One Fire. He cast the spell carefully, focusing on the end of the cigarette so he didn't end up igniting the whole thing in his hand, and grinned when it worked. With relish he sat back, lifted the smouldering stick to his lips, and took a long puff. Only when he was sure he'd poisoned his body even more did he let it out, blowing a couple of rings of smoke for good measure.

"Bad habit… ya know."

Reno cast an amused glance at Yuffie, noting the tiny smirk on her face. He inhaled another long, deliberate breath, and shrugged. "You shouldn't have brought them along, then."

"Reckon I… shouldn't have."

Reno snorted. "Then why?"

"Why not?" Yuffie retorted. "I broke into… a wrong store… and ended up grabbing one… of everything, including… smokes. 'Sides, you kept bitching about… not having one."

He didn't have a comment for that, and the cigarette was still beckoning. He finished it off. Then on second thought, he lit another, finished that one, and got to his feet, pocketing the packet and the small orb of materia in his jacket. "Ready to go?"

Yuffie nodded slightly, then squeezed her eyes closed in what Reno assumed was a silent reprimand at herself for doing something so stupid. "Yeah, but… I hate to burst your… bubble… but… how?"

"We walk."

"… Oh. I was kinda hoping… you weren't going… to say that."

Reno watched as a slight frown tugged at Yuffie's mouth. "What are you looking so annoyed about?" he asked. "It's not like you'll be able to do anything. Consider yourself lucky."

Yuffie's eyes widened. "You're… leaving me here? With…?"

Reno raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Doubt it. Reeve is probably ready to skin me alive, and as funny as it'd be, I doubt leaving you here will do me any good." He crouched beside her, lifted her shoulders with some effort thanks to his own protesting injury, and helped her to sit up. "Nope, you're coming for a tour."

It took them a while to get Yuffie to her feet. Despite her help, and her attempts to cling to Reno, her body was resisting, and the dizziness that Reno could see trying to pull her to the ground wasn't helping. Eventually they reached an arrangement, and both were left standing there for a moment in order to catch their breath from the exertion even that had caused them, Yuffie leaning heavily on Reno's good side, arm around his neck.

"What happened… to your… shoulder?" Yuffie asked when she'd caught her breath.

"Landed on it wrong." Reno cast a sidelong gaze at her. "Something to do with going flying off a moving truck."

"… Heh."

"Yeah. Real funny."

They made their way around the truck, after establishing that there was no way they'd be able to get across the river or get the smashed-up vehicle up the hill, then stopped altogether when it occurred to them that this was going to be harder than they'd thought. Reno frowned, looked to Yuffie, then back to the steep, muddy embankment looming oppressively in front of them.

"… crap. Knew it… couldn't be that… easy."

Reno swore and reached for his pocket, before letting them both sink to the ground. "Out of ideas. I need another cigarette."

* * *

Yuffie scowled as gravity pulled at her. Her head twinged in protest at the ungainly position, and her body hissed in pain, her nerves burning wherever her skin made contact with something else. For about the thousandth time her head bumped against the back of Reno's knees, and she let out another muffled yelp of protest, for all the good it was going to do. After what seemed like forever, but what could have only been about thirty seconds, the hellish movement stopped, and she ceased swinging, her arms dropping to the ground.

"Goddamn you're heavy for someone your size," she heard Reno grunt.

"Didn't ask… you to… throw me over your… shoulders like a sack'a… potatoes, ya know!"

There was a short laugh, and Yuffie felt herself being lowered to the ground. Reno's face appeared in front of her, white teeth glinting in the darkness, and she decided he looked a little too happy about annoying her. But at least he was back to normal. Kind of. The more familiar, arrogant attitude of the Turk was easier to deal with. It was less human, more… tolerable, surprisingly. She considered it a good thing…

"It was either that or drag you up the hill."

Or perhaps not.

"I'd have rather… you left me…" she retorted, and let herself flop down bonelessly onto her back. The liquid fire coursing through her veins was still sapping her strength, though not quite as much as before. Reno had said she just needed rest, and if she went to sleep she could get rid of this pounding headache. If she could just close her eyes for a _second_…

"Oi!" A cold hand slapped lightly against her cheek, and Yuffie cracked open an eye in annoyance.

"Le'mme alone."

"No fucking way. You can't sleep."

"Says who? I should… just make you carry… me… if you're that… keen to do so."

"Oh no you don't."

"Why not? I've… lugged your… sorry ass around… enough. 'n you're heavier… than me…"

Reno scowled. "Brat, if you fall asleep, I'm leaving you here."

"Oooh… the threats." Yuffie let her eye slide closed, and rolled her head to the side dramatically. "Mmmm… sleep…"

"Are you always this annoying when you're concussed?"

Yuffie let a lazy smile slide onto her face. "Pretty much…"

There was a curse from beside her, and Yuffie felt hands begin to maneuver her. She briefly considered helping, but last time Reno had tried to lift her she'd only caused them to fall flat on their backs. So she lay still on the cold grass, letting her body relax, trying to ignore the effects of the drug and simply sleep…

Until she felt her arms begin to dangle again, and the blood rush to her head, increasing her headache and the pain. "Hey!" she hissed, knowing what card Reno had pulled in order to get her attention. "Let me… down!"

She was quickly set to her feet. She felt an arm slide around her waist, and felt her own being slung around Reno's shoulders. They resumed walking, and Yuffie let her feet drag a little before forcing them to take as much weight as they could. She glared at Reno out of the corner of her eye, seeing the laughing blue orbs staring back at her with mirth at having tricked her into getting to her feet.

"… Ass," she muttered.

"Yeah, well. Knew you'd eventually see it my way."

"Like I had… any choice."

"Exactly. Now keep walking and stay awake."

* * *

It took them the better part of half an hour to make their way down the road until the other car appeared out of the darkness. The battered red sedan lay at an odd angle on the road, engine, like the truck they'd left behind, still running. The stolid beam of the headlights pierced the inky sky, facing off in the direction of the trees on the other side of the road. Reno let his eyes wash over the vehicle's silhouette, and for a moment he considered walking right past it.

Only for a moment, mind you.

Moving over to the side of the road, Reno lowered Yuffie to the ground and stood back up.

"'re we there… yet?"

Reno smirked at the provoking tone in Yuffie's voice and looked down at her. "Not quite," he replied.

"How far… have we gone?"

"About two kilometres. We're at the other car."

"… oh, skippy."

Reno raised an eyebrow but didn't bother to comment. Instead, he circled the car, taking in the damage with sharp eyes. Overall, it didn't look too bad. Of course, 'too bad' simply meant that it was in better condition than their other truck, and in a more favourable location. Minus the windscreen he'd shot out. And the blown tyre. And the body of the previous driver lying awkwardly in the back seat. And the shattered glass scattered all over the front seats. He frowned, examined the petrol gauge, noticed it was full enough to at least take them back to Trent, and decided that it was better than nothing.

He went to work on the car, swiping as much of the glass from the front seats and panels as he could, before hunting through the interior for a blanket. He was in luck - for a change. In the back seat, lying under the discarded body, was a large, folded-up, polar fleece seat cover. Sliding out from the front seat, Reno pulled the body out, only paying slight attention to the familiarity of the face, before shoving it down the slight bank beside the car.

_You're second…_

Reno smirked as the body tumbled down the hill and proceeded to crash into the trunks of one of the trees with a sickening crack. Not quite second, but surely good enough. He turned back to the car, retrieved the blanket, and tore it just left of the middle. Placing the first, smaller part in the driver's seat, he tucked it in all the small gaps to cover any remaining glass, before doing the same with the other half in the passenger seat. Done with that, he popped the boot and slid the bottom panel away, noting with relief but also dread the spare tyre that lay there.

"This is gonna hurt," he remarked as he hauled out the jack and the tyre with one arm. Crouching by the blown tyre, he placed the hoist under the car and got to work.

He didn't know how long it took him, but it was certainly longer than he'd thought it would, considering he only had one good arm to work with. By the time he was done, and the spare tyre had been bolted on, the blown one thrown away with the body, he'd broken out into a fine sweat, and his worn out muscles had begun to complain again, not to mention his shoulder…

Reno got to his feet and walked over to Yuffie, kneeling beside her. In between hoisting the car, removing the tyre, adding the other tyre, and lowering the jack, he'd also had to keep her awake. He noticed with some exasperation that she'd let her eyes close again, but that anger soon faded when he noticed her increasing shivering. With a curse he lifted her up, cursed again when his shoulder flared in pain, and hauled her over to the passenger seat. On second thought, before closing the door, he pulled the remains of the blanket around her and flicked on the seatbelt to help secure it, then released the switch on the seat to allow it to recline slightly. Without a windscreen, this was going to be a bitterly cold drive - he couldn't afford to let her get any worse. The drug was enough… a counteracting chill on top… would not be pleasant to say the least. He knew; he'd been there – days in a dingy, freezing cell had not helped his recovery, he could remember that much.

With a final check over the car, Reno got into the driver's seat, grateful that the vehicle was also an automatic, and spun it around, pulling away from the grass and onto the road steadily. Holding back his shivers, and the oncoming dust that rose up from the upcoming gravel, Reno squinted his eyes and focused his eyes on the road. Water filled his eyes as the icy breeze assaulted them, and he narrowed them further, scowling. Right about now, his favoured glasses would have been extremely handy. But no. He'd had to go undercover as a pizza delivery puberty boy in the middle of the night instead.

Nearly without thinking his hand snaked into his pocket. It was about time for another smoke.

* * *

Yuffie yawned and opened her eyes as a hand began to shake her shoulder. With a muffled dismissal she shrugged the arm away, and snuggled back down into the seat. "'m awake," she muttered.

"Sure," came the voice from beside her. "Just like you've been awake for the past couple of hours."

Memory returned in a rush, and Yuffie bolted upward, only to find the hand on her shoulder pressing her back down. Her aching head, which she'd previously forgotten about, began throbbing fiercely in a demand for attention as she did so, and she let it drop back to the headrest. The fire, before unbearable, had begun to subside.

"Ow," she moaned, lifting a hand and placing it gingerly against her temple.

"Yeah, well. Concussions are like that, you'll find."

"Tell me about it," she snapped back. But at least she wasn't so sore now, only tired. She was pleased to note that some of her strength had returned, though she still wasn't anywhere near her usual energetic self. Reno had apparently been letting her sleep a little, and every while or so she would find a hand shaking her shoulder in order to check up on her. Obviously, this was just another one of those times. Yuffie tipped her head sideways, closing her eyes against the light.

Wait… light?

Yuffie's eyes snapped open and she lifted her head toward the direction the windscreen should have been, a groan slipping from her lips and her eyes aching with the sudden demand for usage as she tried to sit up a second time. Again there was a hand on her shoulder, and she let it push her back, though her eyes stayed on the scenery in front of them.

"You think you'd learn," Reno said, his good hand returning to the wheel.

She shook her head as much as it let her, and glanced briefly at Reno. "What time is it?"

"About five-thirty."

"That late? Where're we?"

"A couple of hours from Junon."

Yuffie frowned, casting her squinting eyes out over the orange glow washing over the open fields surrounding the road. The scenery was familiar, but not something she could look at for a long time, and there was still no sign of any civilization. She closed her eyes and dropped her head back again, then on second thought looked back to Reno. "Why's it taking so long? Shouldn't we have been there hours ago?"

Reno shrugged. "Take your pick of reasons. We're running on an old-fashioned temporary tyre, one that'll blow like the other one if we go too fast. Secondly, the car has already been bashed around, and I don't want to push the engine in case it _is_ damaged. And lastly, in case you haven't noticed, we're kind of missing a windscreen. I don't know about you, but it's not exactly Costa del Sol in here. If we go faster, our asses'll freeze to the seats."

Yuffie shivered, suddenly all too aware of the icy breeze circulating through the car, and the thin blanket that was covering her. The sun, although rising, wasn't at the point where it was doing anything to warm up the countryside, and she thought she'd seen the faintest traces of a frost coating the ground, which wasn't helping. She let out a slow breath, and the hazy mist that slipped from between her lips only confirmed the fact. "So… a couple of hours, then?" she asked. "Then Junon?"

"Depends if we hit any traffic. Probably. Perhaps less. At least, I fucking hope it's less."

Yuffie frowned at the pinched expression on Reno's normally untroubled face. "How long've you been driving?"

"Four, five hours."

"That long?"

"Spare tyre, no windscreen, remember?"

"I can't believe it's this late…"

"_Early_," Reno corrected her, and fixed her with a blunt stare.

"Oh yeah. Well, then-"

Reno snorted. "Go back to sleep, brat."

Yuffie smirked at the tone. "Well, "she began, "I could always drive…"

"Oh. Right. And try to kill us again? Fat chance. Go back to sleep."

"_So_ underappreciated," she muttered. "It wasn't my fault someone fixed the brakes, and I seem to remember you handing me the steering wheel…"

There came a snort from beside her. "Never again, I'll tell you that."

"Jerk."

"Brat. Now, g-"

"Go back to sleep. Yeah, yeah. You won't see me complaining." Yuffie complied without another word and closed her eyes again, which had already been threatening to slide shut on her anyway. She was still exhausted, more so than she was willing to admit, and sleep would do her good.

She was asleep before she knew it.

* * *

Reno clamped his teeth together to stop the shivering and tipped his head back against the headrest. His whole body was twinging with the need to get up and walk around, but they were nearly there - if he stopped now he didn't know if he'd be able to get back into the car and continue driving. They'd just passed through the last small town before their destination, and were now about ten minutes out of Junon. He felt a smile creep onto his face, but it was soon suppressed as thoughts of his partners pushed themselves into his mind. Surely they'd made it out. He'd found no bodies on the rooftops, and no sign of them anywhere else. The fact popped into his head that Donovan hadn't mentioned anything about them, and he found himself hoping more than was healthy that they'd escaped to the safehouse without a hitch.

"Idiot. Stop it," he muttered to himself, rubbing a weary hand over his face and instead focusing on the road. But even so, he couldn't ignore the feeling of the chain around his neck, swinging faintly in the forced breeze, nor the phantom burning of the scars on his cheeks.

Twenty minutes later, no thanks to a farmer shifting cows and his seeming inability to control them, not to mention another dent in their car, they reached the outside gates of Junon. Reno noted with some annoyance that since it was still early, and the time for travel was questionable, that the outside gates were closed and there was a guard posted outside. Reno pulled up to the small roadside office and rolled down his window, realizing how pointless this was probably going to be. The outcome was going to be the same either way, he was sure.

The solo guard, dressed in the familiar navy getup of a Shinra worker, stepped out of the office, eyeing the car warily through his tinted visor.

"Sir?"

"Yo," Reno said, tipping his head backward and biting back a wince. He knew what was coming.

"I'd ask to see your civilian ID, please."

Reno felt a bubble of annoyance grow inside him, rising to the surface and threatening to overflow at the predictability of the phrase. He knew he looked suspicious, he _knew _he was in a car that shouldn't even be on the road, but he sure as hell hadn't made it this far only to be stopped by some idiot who was doing his job a little too well. "Look," he said tiredly, rolling his head sideways on the support to better glare at the man. "I don't have it on me. And I'm not a civilian, either. I'm an assistant to President Reeve."

The man raised an eyebrow, and a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth until he realized that Reno was being serious.

"Sir," he said again, "I can't let you in without your Identification Card. Everyone has one these days, especially execs. Where is yours?"

"With Reeve," Reno replied, realizing how lame it sounded despite the fact that he was opting for the truth… for a change.

"Right," the man said after a second. "Well then perhaps you can give me the number and I'll patch it into the computer?"

Shit. He never had bothered to pay much attention to it, let alone remember his number. In the past intimidation had been his forte, not playing by the rules. But these days…? Reno let a rueful smile slip onto his face, before affecting a look of concentration. "Oh-five… four-eight. Dash. Two-nine… ah, fuck. Four-four… two?"

The guard typed in the number, and shook his head. "Sorry, sir. No such number."

Reno pursed his lips. Frankly, he wasn't all that surprised - he'd just pulled the number out of thin air. "You're not going to let me in, are you?" he asked resignedly after a moment.

"Not without an ID, no."

Reno scowled, realizing his earlier prediction had been true. "Oh, great. Just what I need. An asshole with an authority problem."

"I'm sorry?"

"You're an asshole," Reno said without any qualms. "I've been driving for fucking seven hours straight, and now you're not even going to let me into my destination. I'm freezing cold because some jerk sideswiped me and shattered my windscreen outside of Trent and I've driven that far without it because I didn't have a choice. And _you're_ going to stop me! After _all_ this way, you're going to say 'sorry, sir, I can't let you in'."

The man eyed the car's battered exterior dubiously, a hint of guilt showing in his eyes. "I don't see how that's my problem. I'm just doing my job."

"Right. Do I look like I care what your job is? Frankly, as far as I'm concerned, you can shove it up your ass."

"Sir, please watch your language!"

"Or what?" Reno snapped, raising an eyebrow and offering a feral grin. "You going to make me?"

The man took a step backward, but his expression hardened. "Y-yes. I'll be forced to-"

After taking a quick look around to make sure there was no one watching, Reno squared his jaw resolutely and opened the car door before the sentence could be finished, leaping out and knocking the man over with a swift kick that probably hurt him more than the other guy. As the guard started to get up from the dusty ground, true anger finally written on his face, Reno delivered a quick, precise blow to the junction of the man's neck and he went out like a light. Reno snickered as the man slumped to the ground, and before he could think about what he was doing he'd bent down to lift the unconscious man away from sight –

"Fuck!" Reno swore, jumping back and holding his shoulder. "You stupid _idiot_!"

With a little more care he bent down and grabbed one of the man's arms with only his good one, and dragged him a short distance away from the road, so no one who wasn't looking would see him. He took a second look around, saw the area was clear, and then walked into the office and pushed the release button for the gate. He watched with a satisfied smile as with a loud rattling noise the heavy gates slid open, revealing the outskirts of Junon beyond.

"And it's only seven-thirty," he remarked, stepping back into the car. "But fuck knows why all the guards Reeve hires are incompetent slum rats!"

"… Does that include you?" came the quiet, but amused voice from beside him.

Reno glanced across at Yuffie, noting the half-lidded eyes and the slight grin. "I'm not the one that was so desperate for my company that I tagged along on a bloody suicide mission, now was I?"

The dark eyes slipped closed, and a tongue was poked out. "Saved you from bein' butchered a few times, ya know."

"And vice versa," Reno countered, pulling the car away from the edge and through the gate.

"_Still_ underappreciated," he heard Yuffie mutter sleepily. "Useless… Turk…"

He didn't waste his breath on replying, without looking he could tell she was asleep as soon as her head hit the support again. Instead, he concentrated on navigating his way through the growing city of Junon, and the increasing traffic, unable to keep the feeling of apprehension from pooling in the base of his gut. He was nearly there, and though he looked forward to getting back to some semblance of safety, he didn't know just who would be there to greet him when he did…

* * *

The lights were on, that was the first thing he noticed. The second was the familiar car parked outside. The familiar, black car that the three of them had driven to the final preparatory mission briefing… _His_ car. Reno pulled the stolen vehicle up to the side of the suburban road, ignoring the sign just beyond that told him it was illegal. Switching the engine off, he cast his eyes up to the second floor of the familiar Inn again, seeing the rough outline of a human figure blocking a small portion of light from behind the lit-up curtains. The silhouette, although slightly blurry, was also familiar, as was the second one that soon joined it.

Reno let his head tip backward against the headrest in a weary sort of exhausted reprieve. The huge weight that had been shackled to his shoulders since the beginning of all this eased, and he was left with a casual smirk on his face. Casting his eyes toward the sleeping ninja in the passenger seat, Reno pulled the keys from the ignition, got out of the car and walked around to Yuffie's side. Freeing her from the seatbelt but not the blanket, he slung her over his shoulder when she didn't wake, and crossed the road.

With a grin that just wouldn't leave his face, Reno slipped up to the concealed side door of the Inn, moving around the cameras he knew to be positioned in various locations around the building, and through the small corridor without a sound. His friends had given him a fright, it was his turn to return the favour…

* * *

_Author's Notes: Well, there we have it, the second-to-last chapter. I hope it wasn't too bad! This one took a little longer due to the fact that RL decided to interfere, but I hope it wasn't too suspenseful-a wait. I see the new formatting is working, which is good, especially considering the way ffnet screws around with it all the time. With any luck, I should have the next and final update for this story done within the week._

_Silverburner__: Thanks! I'm glad you like it! Hrm… more Reffieness. Well, we'll see what happens in this one. Depending on encouragement, I may write a fic that takes place after this… or not. It's entirely up to you guys, really, and what you think..._

_Eternal Wanderer: Yes, a cliffhanger ending, lol. It wasn't really too bad, though, I hope… and I did update fast-ish. "Luck is my middle name. Mind you, my first name is Bad." – I love it! I haven't read any Terry Pratchett, but I've got a friend that does. That saying, especially, suits the situations they always manage to get into perfectly! And to be honest, I was worried about how the tampering with the brakes was going to be received, so I'm glad you didn't have any problems with it. Thanks!_

_The Burning Misery: Thank you again for the wonderful comments on my actions scenes! I do try! And with regards to Yuffie's role in the fight, I didn't want to turn her into a useless little tagalong, now did I? Lol… Apparently she likes to be useful.  _

_Tijuana__ Pirate: Winces Sorry for the cliffhanger, but it had to be done. I almost didn't end it there, you know, but the chapter would have been about a thousand words longer, and would have closed in a stupid place, so I opted for that particular ending… I know it's frustrating, but it did work out a lot better. Thank you for the lovely comments on the car chase, btw! I hate leaving characters out, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!_

_Angel Yuffie: Wow, two days? Go you! I sure hope you enjoyed this update as much as the rest of the stories. The next chapter will be up soon! _

_See you all next update, and don't forget to review!! _

_Ealinesse. _


	12. Return

**Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,**

**By Ealinesse**

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. And a rusty truck that, _apparently,_ Reno and Yuffie don't want any more… not to mention a couple more trashed vehicles, the shards to a broken locator… and well, not a lot else. Go me!

**Summary:** A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane.

**Warnings:** Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language, a little Violence.

**Category:** Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Angst, Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie Arguing… Nothing too unusual, really.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Return…**

* * *

Elena sighed and leaned back in her seat, taking another sip of the super strong coffee that had become a staple part of her diet since joining the Turks. With a weary gaze she eyed the GPS monitor located on the desk in front of her, mentally willing the thing to either spontaneously combust, or make the small green icon that had disappeared a few hours a go, reappear. With habit she glanced briefly at the cameras they'd placed around their hideout, but to her chagrin there was no movement; nothing stirred. A yawn bubbled up and with a scowl she realized this time that it just wasn't going to hold back any longer. She raised a tired arm and covered her mouth, then let it drop back to her lap in disgust. It had been a long three days.

_… Three days… already?_

Elena rocked the chair back in frustration, once, then twice. On the third swing she jumped carelessly off it, not caring what happened to it after she'd left it. The small wooden armchair hadn't needed much encouragement. With a groan of tortured protest it tipped backward and crashed to the ground, causing the other two people in the room to look up at her in question. Muttering a small apology and ducking her head, she shuffled nervously around the room, realizing that she was beginning to pace, but unable to do anything else of use but worry to death.

"Stop it."

Elena halted mid-pace, and turned to face Rude, who was standing by the large, curtained window overlooking the street. "… Sorry," she said quietly after a second. "It's just-"

"Pacing is not going to help anything. Neither is sitting there, staring at that monitor." This came from Reeve, who was sitting on the only couch in the upper floor, a maze of papers laid out on the desk before him. He didn't look up, but the tone in his voice was clear – 'we are just as concerned as you'.

Elena screwed up her face, then let out a tense breath, turning back to Rude. He was looking at her with a blank expression, his glass-shielded eyes expressionless. Without a word she walked over to him, toward the lit-up window, and lifted an arm and placed it around his waist, settling herself comfortably against his body in a loose hug. She felt an arm snake around her shoulders, pulling her into him, completing the circle, and she tipped her head against his chest, feeling the reassuring rhythmic beating of his heart pounding in the background.

A small sigh escaped her lips, and she cast her eyes to the closed curtains, where the early morning sunlight was beginning to filter in. "Where is he, Rude? You'd think the crazy bastard'd be home by now, if he was coming."

"If he was coming," Rude repeated.

"Do you think… the reason that his signal disappeared is because… Donovan found him?"

Rude didn't answer for a moment, but his free hand came up and ran through her hair and down the back of her neck, finally stopping just under her jaw. At the slight pressure, Elena tilted her head up to face him. She looked into his eyes, past the glasses, and nodded silently, biting her lip.

"I know," she said. "_I know_, I know. The Shinra guard are out looking for him as we speak, you've said that. But why can't _we_ go out? Surely we could do better than they could!"

"When was the last time you slept, Elena?" Reeve's voice cut in. "In fact, when was the last time either of you slept? You both arrived the other day, together, after being on the run for hours. Despite that fact, and despite the fact you're exhausted, both of you have yet to sleep. The last thing I need is two of my best bodyguards to collapse from exhaustion. I already have the possibility to face that I've lost one of you, I don't need to lose the rest. Now, _please_…"

She understood. Hell, more than that - she knew where Reeve was coming from. She even knew why Reno had demanded that if the mission be botched they return to the safehouse, and stay there until anything sure was known. But… it didn't make it right. They'd fled with their lives, and now all they were allowed to do was wait as their leader was left out _there_, alone. And waiting, when a comrade was missing, despite _who_ they were, despite _what_ they were, didn't make it any easier. Not when that machine had decided to go and fry itself. Not when they had no communication between them… not _ever_.

"It's been seven hours," she muttered tiredly, her dark eyes closing as she leaned further into the warm body she was resting against. "And they still haven't found anything. Have they even _reached_ the point where the signal has disappeared, yet?"

"That team is scouring the roads heading toward it as we speak. They haven't seen it, no."

"Then what about-"

Elena found her words cut off as a loud ringing caused her to snap her mouth shut. Her head snapped around to face the noise, and she watched as Reeve began to rummage around in the stacks of paper to find the phone, sheets upon sheets of documents sliding to the carpeted ground as the hands scoured the coffee table. After what seemed like forever she watched the President fish a small black flip-PHS from the mess, before flicking it open and raising it to his ear.

"… Reeve, here."

The silence was threatening to make her pull her hair out in frustration as Reeve began to ask questions, and then simply listen, nodding and 'yes-ing' as he deemed fit. Elena scowled, unable to ignore the tight-lipped expression forming on Reeve's face, nor the corresponding sudden tenseness in her partner's frame. After a long moment, the phone was snapped shut, and Reeve faced them with a drained expression.

"Well?" Rude asked.

"Who was it?" Elena questioned at nearly the same time.

"Aden," Reeve filled them in.

"Who?"

"He's a guard at the Shinra outpost, at the entrance to Junon."

Damn it, that tone was not a good one. "What… did he want?"

"I'm not sure what to make of this, really. It could be very bad. Aden received a call earlier this morning notifying him that one of their guards had been knocked out and found around the side of the small office. The man was unable to say who it was that had done this when he woke up, but was babbling some incoherent nonsense about 'no such ID' and some 'crazy bastard' with a battered red car that had refused to take no for an answer."

There was a long silence, during which Elena felt her thoughts run wild. _We haven't heard anything for days, and then all of a sudden __Reno__'s signal disappears and someone is demanding entrance to the town without an ID?_ She didn't know what to think, and by the looks on the faces of the two men in the room, neither did they.

"How long ago was this?" Rude asked.

"They're not sure. Perhaps as little as half an hour ago. It's out of range of their cameras."

"And they think it could be Do-"

"They don't know _who_ it is, or whether it's a related incident. But how often does something like this happen around here, especially now?"

"So basically we're on watch?" Elena asked slowly.

"_Armed_ watch," Rude mirrored, pulling his gun from his jacket with a resolute set to his jaw.

"Exactly. We have to be prepared… "

_For the worst… _Elena heard her thoughts finish off, and she scowled, retrieving her own gun from her shoulder holster. Without another word she slipped over to the desk where the cameras lay, her eyes zooming over the various small monitors sunken into the panel. She pushed a few buttons, rotating angles and cameras, her eyes ripping the scene to pieces in order to spot any possible movement or differences…

Like the battered red car that had suddenly appeared behind their own.

"Uh, guys…" Elena bit out, unable to tear her eyes from the screen. Two figures were suddenly behind her, and she pointed to the vehicle that was parked on the curb, passenger and driver's door still open. "That wasn't there before."

"A battered red car…" Reeve mumbled, frowning.

There was a click from beside her as Rude flicked his safety off and spun around, stern eyes scavenging the area for anything out of the ordinary. Elena got to her feet as well, prepared to move her and Reeve into a more defensive position in the house if need be, when there was a loud, repetitive banging…

A knock on the door, and all heads turned in the direction of the insistent noise.

Elena's eyes shot to the cameras, but she saw nothing. There had been no movement indicative of anyone in their general vicinity. None of their alarms had gone off. And that could mean one of two things: someone had deactivated them at their power source, or knew where they were. Her gaze met momentarily with Rude's and they approached the two sides of the door warily, prepared to shoot if need be when a distinctively familiar, muffled voice rung out on the other side.

"Pizza delivery for baldy and bimbo. Pay up or I break the fucking door down!"

* * *

Reno continued to kick loudly at the door, not quite ignorant of the chaos he knew he was probably causing inside, but not quite caring either. The smirk plastered on his face had by this stage grown into a full-fledged grin. By avoiding the cameras, and leaving the car parked behind theirs in plain sight, he'd no doubt cast suspicion on the current situation. And if he was right in thinking that the _other_ situation at the gate he'd caused would be reported directly to Reeve, then they'd be on strict watch. He only hoped that the man he'd knocked out hadn't given up a description, or it would all be a dead giveaway.

Readjusting the sleeping figure slung over his shoulder, he aimed a final kick at the door. "Pizza delivery for baldy and bimbo. Pay up or I break the fucking door down!"

For a moment there was no answer. Then came the sound of multiple locks switching off, and the door creaked hesitantly open. Reno wiped the smile from his face, affecting a look of pissed disinterest at his two partners. "Fuck, took you long enough."

No one said anything for a long moment, and Reno took that opportunity to gauge the reaction of the two standing before him. Rude… well, the corner of his mouth was twitching, and his gun was slowly lowered, then placed back in its holster. Elena's eyes were wide, and she was trying hard to look angry, but succeeding really in only looking like a gaping fish.

"Well, are you going to let me in, or just make me stand there all day?"

"… You're safe," Elena said slowly, ignoring his comment, quite obviously shocked. Then she seemed to shake off the reverie she'd fallen into, and Reno couldn't move fast enough to avoid the punch she aimed at him. "Idiot!" she exclaimed. "Why couldn't you have let us known you were okay the _normal_ way!"

Reno flinched slightly at the bony fist that landed against his injured shoulder. "What fun would that be?" he asked. "Now… "

The two moved aside, and it was then that Reno noticed the third person in the room. He smirked and walked over to the couch, which Reeve was standing silently by. He took in the slight frown of disapproval and the posture, and then looked straight past him. He lowered himself down on the sofa and then slipped his burden from off his shoulder, ignoring her weak protests at being pushed around like a 'sack of potatoes'. Only once he'd settled them both comfortably back, ignoring his aching muscles and sinking into the cushy confines of the couch, did he pay any more attention to the others in the room.

"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"

Reno looked pointedly at Reeve. "Didn't I _tell_ you that stupid disguise wouldn't work?"

Reeve didn't answer, but his expression was mildly apologetic. Reno watched as Rude and Elena made their way around the couch, and he felt himself suddenly on the receiving end of three very curious gazes.

"What happened?" Elena asked after a moment. "You obviously escaped, but-"

Reno shrugged a shoulder. "By the time we'd all realized that he knew we were there, his men had managed to sneak around the area. I don't know how he knew, but he did. We got away, eventually, but it was a pain in the ass. Donovan was chasing us the entire time."

"Us?"

Reno nodded toward the slumbering figure on the couch beside him, and the others took in the sight as if seeing her for the first time.

"Yuffie?" Elena asked, incredulous. "But-"

"She didn't listen when I told her to. The brat hung around and… " Reno let his voice trail off, and a frown crept onto his face.

"And what?"

"She knocked Donovan out in the alley. It was the reason we got away at all."

"She ignored you and came back?"

"Yup."

Elena snorted. "Well, then _apparently_, she has the same regard towards a practical mission as you do." She paused, then walked over to the couch and crouched beside the sleeping girl, placing a hand on her forehead. "She went with you the whole way…" she whispered after a moment, shooting him an expression he didn't like. "Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine," Reno said. "Donovan got her with the drug a while ago, but not too badly. She just needs to rest, I'd say most of it has worn off by now."

"Well that also explains that little mystery." Everyone in the room looked up at Reeve, and seeing the question in their eyes, he began to explain. "Yuffie didn't turn up at Tifa's birthday function. I vaguely remember her mentioning that she hadn't seen her, and she found it odd. After ringing her PHS, Tifa received no answer, but didn't think too much of it. Yuffie always does as she pleases, and it wasn't unusual for Wutaian business to stop her from attending things. It wasn't until late the next day, when she didn't return home on her scheduled skycab, that Godo noticed she was missing. He called Tifa, who of course hadn't seen her either. There's been a missing person's notice out ever since. I should probably call Lord Godo and inform him otherwise."

Reno eyed Yuffie with amusement. He lifted his good arm and reached over to shake her. "Oi, troublemaker, wake up."

"Told ya, ya stupid Turk… 'm already 'wake."

Reno snickered, seeing the confused expressions on the faces of the rest of the group. "Concussed," he offered with a slight shrug.

"Oh," Elena said, wincing. "Then what about-"

"And Donovan? He's not around here still, is he?" Reeve asked abruptly.

"Dead," Reno replied with some satisfaction for the second time that night. He didn't offer any more details, aware that the brief answers he was giving were no doubt annoying the hell out of the others. He leaned back with a smirk, closed his eyes. "He tried to chase us down while we were on the road," he added when he heard Elena's sound of protest at his evasiveness.

"And…?"

"He failed," he offered smugly.

"So the mission was successful, then," he heard Reeve muse. "Good."

"What took you so long? Why three days?"

"Yeah, what'd you do, take a bloody vacation?"

Reno's eyes snapped open and he sought out the voice, raising an eyebrow at Rude, noticing the mirrored, vaguely amused expression that came with the question. "Why three days?" Reno countered. "Feh… I'll explain later."

"No. We'll debrief now, thank you very much."

Reno scowled at Reeve. "You want a summary, I'll assume."

"No, more than that, but I'm willing to bet that's all you're going to give me for now until I make you sit down and write a report."

Reno shrugged a shoulder again, and his smirk deepened. "Damn straight. But you know what?"

"… What."

"I'm not telling you even that much until I get some food, some coffee, and some materia." With that he got to his feet, wincing at the resulting twinge in his shoulder. "And not in that particular order."

The room bustled into activity, and within twenty minutes Reno found himself faced with a full plate of hot food. He eyed the overflowing platter with delight, and grinned openly up at the blonde woman who had seated herself across from him at the table in the small kitchenette. Lifting the fork with his good arm, he took a bite, his mouth practically watering as he inhaled the contents as fast as his mouth would let him. In between bites he heard his empty stomach rumble in approval, and Elena nodded in satisfaction.

"Three days," she said slowly. "You are _such_ an idiot. How can it take three days to get from Midgar to _Junon_?"

He shrugged, mouth full, and transferred his grip to the steaming mug of coffee that Reeve placed before him. Washing down the bite with the strong liquid, he continued gulping it down until it was empty. "Elena's coffee," he said after a second, when the taste lingered. He turned to the blonde and lifted the drained mug. "Please, miss, may I have some more?" He blinked his vivid blue eyes rapidly, his expression dissolving into a smirk as Elena gave him an exasperated look.

"Ass," she said, snatching the cup from his fingers and returning to the counter. "We worry for _days _and then you turn up, fine, with the 'missing' heir of the Wutai slung over your shoulder, _demandin_g food and drink."

"He's not quite fine."

Reno looked up as Rude walked into the room, eyeing the stack of clothes the large man held in one hand, then the pulsing orb of green materia in the other. He rocked back on the chair as the other man halted beside him, glancing at him appraisingly through dark lenses.

"You look like shit."

Reno screwed up his face. "Thanks."

"You've dislocated your shoulder. Again."

Reno looked down at the offending joint, following the tilt of his partner's head. "Observant, as always. I'm guessing you're going to be a sadist, like usual, and ask to pop it back in?"

The corner of Rude's mouth twitched. "Not ask."

"Fine. But only if it's not too swollen. I remember happened last time I dislocated it, and you and Tseng offered to 'help' me." But he shrugged off the filthy navy over-jacket anyway, wincing when the fabric tugged against the injury.

"That's what this is for." The bald man lifted the materia, then proceeded to cast it directly onto his shoulder.

Reno felt the warm glow begin to spread over him, scanning over his body before focusing mainly on his right shoulder. In a haze of emerald light it settled on the dislocated joint, then, with a slight breeze, faded out. A part of the burning pain subsided, and he saw the swelling visibly go down from through the torn segment on his bloodstained shirt. "All right, you sadist," he said, when the materia had done its work. "It's ready."

Rude stepped up beside him, and without a word braced his shoulder with one strong hand, then his arm with the other. Reno squared his jaw, clenched his teeth together, then nodded slightly. Sudden, intense agony flared up his shoulder and down his arm, then gradually died into nothing more than a slight ache, fading into the background with the rest of his hurts.

"Thanks," he said after a second, flexing the suddenly complying arm with a slight wince.

"Sling?"

"Not yet," Reno replied, shaking his head, retrieving the change of clothes Rude had placed on the table. "I still want a shower."

"Well, you know where it is." Reeve piped in. "But don't take too long, it wasn't part of that deal, you know."

"Why not?" Reno retorted, leaving the corridor with a slight grin. "What's half an hour compared to three days?" And before anyone else could complain, he went into the bathroom and locked the door, leaning against it with a smirk. Damn, it was good to be back…

* * *

He felt… remarkably… human again. Reno stepped out of the shower and snatched the towel off the rail, scrubbing it vigorously over his face and back into his hair. The practically-boiling water had done wonders for his exhausted body, not to mention filled in the blanks that the Cure Materia hadn't been able to reach. Drying off the rest of his body, Reno wrapped the towel around his waist and secured it. He yawned, stepping up to the vanity, and that yawn soon led to a full-out stretch, his muscles twinging in pain but feeling surprisingly good as well. Finally, done, he looked back to the sink, and then up to the large, fogged-up mirror in front of him.

Remembering what a surprise he'd had last time he looked in a mirror, he curiously swiped the mist off it with a careless arm, and took a step back.

Crap.

Reno raised an eyebrow, then smirked as his reflection did the same. Rude was only partly right, he realized – he definitely looked like _crap_, but shit was still a long time in coming. It wasn't near as bad as when he and Yuffie had come off that farm and turned up at that inn in Trent. No, this time he just looked worn out, and… well... Reno raised an arm and traced the new, pink scar on his abdomen. Without thinking his gaze drifted up to the healed slash on his shoulder, at the equally new mark there, too. He cocked his head to the side, and took a further step back, nodding agreeably as they faded in with the rest of them.

_Nothing permanent then,_ his mind assured him, and he fingered the golden chain he had yet to remove. And the key that wasn't his…

With a scowl he looked down, eyeing the items scattered across the small sink. His scowl faded into an amused expression, as he realized that in all the bustle Elena had even laid out his toothbrush and razor. Pursing his lips and shaking his head, he made short work of the accumulated stubble, before brushing his teeth. That done, he pulled on his clothes, dumped the towel, and headed out to the lounge where everyone was no doubt waiting.

Reno settled on the couch, prepared to answer the barrage of questions, when he noticed something odd. He looked down at the empty space on the sofa where Yuffie had previously been, then looked questioningly up at Reeve, who was the only other person in the room.

"Rude took her through to the spare room. She's sleeping through there."

"Ah," Reno said, and left without a word. He navigated the corridor to the usually empty room and settled himself in the doorway, watching as Rude and Elena helped to maneuver her into the large bed. When they were done, Rude glanced at Elena as she placed a couple of pills beside the bed, along with a glass of water and a note.

"Heavy for a runt, isn't she?" Reno said as the two began to leave.

Rude grunted in acknowledgement, and Elena shrugged.

"She woke up before," the blonde offered. "Asked if you'd crashed the car yet, saying something about how she could drive?"

Reno smirked. "Later," was all he said, and they left the room. On second thought, Reno closed the door a little, his gaze lingering slightly on the slim form in the bed before he shook his head and met the others in the lounge. He settled back into the couch, and destined to annoy, he lifted his feet so the others had to work around him.

"Where do you want me to start?" he asked, smirking at the impromptu seating arrangement he'd caused. He had to admit, it was kind of amusing to see Reeve, the President of the new world order, and two of his bodyguards sitting on uncomfortable wooden chairs while he lounged about in the lap of luxury.

"The beginning, would be nice," Reeve offered. "Like usual," he added, on second thought.

Reno shrugged. "Summary it is, then. You all know what happened in the alley?"

Rude and Elena nodded, while Reeve lifted his hand in an iffy gesture. "I've heard their side, but not yours."

"Oh-kay," Reno said. "Then I guess I'm explaining that, too?"

"Yes." Reeve's tone brooked no argument.

"Well, after we'd moved into position, Rude spotted someone in the alley, then Elena did as well. I went down to check it out, and it was then we established it was Yuffie. When I caught up to her she said something about how some kid had stolen her present, and she was chasing after the little shit. I told her to get out of the alley, and she did. Assuming she'd listened, which was probably a bad idea, I chased after the kid then went back to the rooftops. We're not sure how Donovan knew we were there, but it's possible someone was keeping watch. Either way, when I went to his door ten minutes later I was greeted with his gun."

Reno paused for a moment. "That fill in the blanks?"

"Sure does," Reeve replied. "Continue."

"Well I'm not sure what happened to Rude and Elena, but I had to slip into a slight side alley to avoid getting my head blown off. After that, and after killing the idiots he had working for him that were on the ground, Donovan came after me. We ended up facing off in the alley. That was when Yuffie turned up again."

"She came back while there was gunfire?" Elena asked. "Why?"

"Said she was curious as to what was going on, and said she knew that I'd get into trouble."

"Ah," the blonde replied, smirking. "She picked up on that little habit, did she?"

Reno chose to ignore her offhand comment, and instead continued with his story. "When she arrived was just after Donovan had shot me. She knocked him out, as I told you earlier, and then we fled."

"You were shot?" Reeve frowned. "Where?"

Reno lifted his shirt and showed the small scar from where the bullet had penetrated. "All gone, mother hen. Anyway, as I said, we fled, out past the alleys, then stole the truck Donovan had had with him. It took us ages to get the fucking thing going, and when we did the remainder of the guys were almost on us. We escaped out through the back gates, and began toward Junon with our first car, but-"

"Your first car?" Rude's voice sounded amused.

Reno ripped the fingers. "I'm getting to that. We got about a half hour out of Midgar before something on the road made the car spin out. The stupid top-heavy truck rolled down the embankment, and landed upside down. I _think_ I knocked myself out, because next thing the brat is nagging me to get out of the car. Eventually we did, and without a choice with what to do, we headed into the forest along the roads. The last thing we needed was to flag down a car only to find it was Donovan's. So we walked, traced the road through the forest until later on when a car headed down the road..."

"You walked that far?"

"That's not all," Reno replied, shaking his head disgustedly. "That's not even the _half_ of it. When the car pulled past slowly, we gathered it was Donovan, or someone that was too nosy for their own good. So-"

"So, naturally, you went deeper into the forests."

Reno scowled. "We didn't have any choice. It was quite late that night, when the torches got closer, when we realized that we were too close to them. We knew we weren't getting away, not without being able to see anything in the dark or being able to risk a torch, so we climbed into one of the trees." Reno paused, snickering.

"What?"

"Well, the last thing I remember after _that_ is waking up, finding Yuffie tied to a tree."

"_What_!"

"Well, apparently, something hit my side, and I passed out."

"_Apparently_," came Elena's voice again. "Idiot," she added. "Was _she_ okay… and why didn't you Cure your side?"

Reno shrugged. "I didn't have the chance, and we didn't have any materia on us, or potions. I think I woke up later the next day. It was light, and I climbed down from the tree. I don't know how long Yuffie'd been tied there, but man was she pissed. I untied her, she threatened to kill me, then explained that said thugs that had been chasing us had found her later in the night. I think she fought them to start with, but she couldn't see. In the end she convinced them that I wasn't with her, that I'd abandoned her somewhere along the road, and that she was lost. They headed away, but not before tying her to the tree and leaving her there for making them storm through the forest on a wild goose chase all night for nothing. The brat wasn't hurt, just _really_ annoyed. And before you ask, no, Donovan wasn't with them. Yuffie would have been dead or captured if that had been the case."

"Understandably."

"What happened after that?"

"We kept walking. Since we were in the forest and had looped around so many fucking times we had no idea where we were, we just picked a direction and stuck to it. It wasn't until later that night when we reached the outside edges of a road. Not sure where it was, but apparently we'd ended up in the right direction. We stole a car from a farm shed, took it up to the outskirts of Trent, and dumped it in by the trees. After that we snuck into Trent, and ransacked the inn there."

"What do you mean… ransacked?" Reeve asked, wincing. "Is it something I'm going to have to pay for, or do I just not want to know?"

"We'd been on the run for two days by then, Reeve," Reno said derisively. "Ransacked meaning we didn't care that we didn't have any money - and no, we didn't trash the place. Much. We went into the inn, and when the guy refused to give us a room, we simply… disagreed with him."

"Reno, you _didn't_!"

He smirked. "No, actually, Yuffie did. She jumped over the counter before the poor kid could stop her, grabbed a key, and demanded that he leave us alone. When she pulled out her bloody shuriken the boy didn't stand a chance, only stuttered and nodded, and she left. When I'd made him assure me that no one would annoy us and that he wasn't going to report anything, I went to the room." He glanced at Elena. "She pulled the same fucking trick you used on me to get first shower."

"What, threatened to use up all the hot water if you didn't leave her alone?"

"Yeah, that."

"I wouldn't worry. It's a girl thing. Guys generally smell, and half the time they don't even care about it."

Reno scowled, fixing Elena with a mildly annoyed look. "Thanks. Anyway, while she showered, I fell asleep and… "

"And what?"

"Nothing," Reno cut in. He would not discuss the finer points of his nightmares with his partners. Things like that were not supposed to happen, not to a Turk. "After she woke me up, I had a shower, during which Yuff knocked on the door and said she was going to sneak around town to find anything useful."

"You let her?"

"I didn't see the point in arguing. She seemed fairly set on the idea, and I wasn't going to argue, I was in the shower. It was a good idea at the time, anyway. We needed food, materia, potions, fresh clothes, weapons… a car."

"I see."

"It took her a while. When she was gone, and after I was in the shower, I fell asleep again. The next thing I know she's yelling at me to wake the hell up, because she'd run into trouble when she'd broken into a shop."

"Donovan?"

"Donovan. Apparently, he hadn't been overly swayed by Yuffie's attempts to steer them away. He'd guessed I'd be heading this way, and not on the northern roads, and had come with his men. While sneaking into one of the shops, she heard a noise and fled. Donovan and his useless excuse for henchmen heard her, and nearly caught her. After recognizing them, she managed to kill the two men that were with him, and then got away from Donovan with the stuff she'd stolen."

"Stolen? She wasn't hurt? Godo'd kill me if… "

"No. Not hurt. When she got back and after she'd told me he was here we got ready, I got changed, we grabbed the bag, and then managed to find another car – a farm ute this time."

"Another? What is that… the third?"

"Yep."

"So I take it he found you?" Reeve asked, switching them back to the topic at hand.

"Right. I took the car down a small side road to see if we could lose him, but apparently he'd wagered that I'd do that. His car was a great deal faster, and it didn't take long for him to catch up to us. At that point he had someone else driving, and he was shooting the odd bullet. Occasionally he'd ram the car with his, and since the road was shingle it'd cause us to nearly spin out. Since we were ahead of him, we couldn't really do much. I didn't have any weapons, the gun that I had had was out of bullets, and we were stuck, even though Yuffie eventually managed to find a shotgun in the back seat. She didn't know how to shoot one, so..."

"So what'd you do?" Elena asked, seeing the amused expression finding its way onto Reno's face.

"I let Yuffie drive." The initial part of the phrase had no effect. He hadn't expected it to. Reno smirked, shrugging at the expectant looks of the other three. "She doesn't know how."

"You're kidding."

"He's not," Reeve said, shaking his head and lifting a hand to rub wearily over his face. "He's mad, you know."

"How can she _not_ know?"

"She's never had to before," Reno said. "She's been able to rely on lifts from others all her life, and where she can't drive to, she walks to, or takes a chocobo, apparently. It's never occurred to her to learn."

"So you just… gave her the wheel?"

"I explained things a bit, and since it was a fairly modern truck it was an auto. It also had cruise control."

"And that was that?"

"I gave her some instructions, told him to keep ahead of Donovan if she could. Then I smashed the back window and began shooting. They couldn't see me through all the dust to begin with, but later they obviously knew I was there. Donovan had only one other person in the car with him, and that was just one of his men – the driver. I took him out fairly easily, and because his driver was dead the car slowed. He managed to catch back up, though, and so when the road widened out into a normal one he pulled up beside us. I faked a shot at him, he pulled up further, rammed us, and I shot out his tyre." He scowled then.

"What?"

"Well I _thought_ then that I'd stopped him, but apparently I'd just given him more reason to get to me. He jumped onto the bonnet just before I shot out the tyre, and we ended up fighting it out on the back of the truck's deck."

"While it was moving!"

"Ah… yeah. But that wasn't for long. The fact that we kind of ended up going over the edge of a washed-out bridge didn't help things." He turned to face Reeve, rolling his eyes slightly. "Oh, by the way, Reeve, there's a washed-out bridge just outside of Trent. Did you know that?" he asked in a light, conversational, seemingly uncaring tone.

"Say what?" Elena asked.

"Yuffie tried the brakes; Donovan had disconnected them." He snorted. "She pulled the key out, but it didn't slow it enough, and without anything else to do she yanked on the handbrake. Of course, we spun out, but we _definitely_ slowed. Apparently it wasn't enough. Before either of us knew what was going on, we're rolling down this bloody river bank."

"I take it that's how Yuffie got her concussion?"

"You guess right. She hit her head on the wheel while we rolled. She's damned lucky that she was wearing her belt, otherwise it could have been a lot worse. After I'd managed to figure out which way was up again, I pulled her out, away from the truck. That was when it first occurred to me that Donovan had disappeared."

"He ran?"

"No. I thought perhaps he had… but he was hiding. It wasn't until I'd left Yuffie for a moment to look around that I realized I'd fucked that up. By the time I'd picked up on what was off, he had Yuffie. She wasn't too awake, and since he had a knife to her throat she wasn't moving that much."

"He… made her a hostage?" Reeve paled. "Did he know just _who_ she was?"

"Not a clue, as far as I know. Kind of didn't give him the chance to find out, either. But he let her go, eventually – well, he didn't have much choice. Not after both of us 'persuaded' him to… but not before slashing her shoulder with the knife, either."

"_The_ knife…?"

"_The_ knife."

"Why… did he think it was a good idea to fight you?"

Reno offered a cold smile. "He was convinced he was going to win."

"What? You two were always a fairly even match, I'd thought."

"We were. But that was when we were on even ground. He had a knife, and I still had a bullet hole in my side, and a dislocated shoulder."

"Typical," Elena commented. "I suppose it was your idea to take on an armed man in a death-duel."

Reno only offered a grin. "Like I had much choice, Yuffie couldn't do a lot. Anyway, to cut a long story short, he fucked up, I took the opening that Yuffie provided, and proved that he's eaten one too many pizzas since he became a turncoat."

"So… where is he now?"

"I left him," Reno replied, shrugging. "I wasn't exactly going to drag him back here. I know he's dead, I was right there when I killed him. Anyway, I had enough trouble getting Yuffie back."

"… How?"

"How… did he die?" Reno guessed. "With his own knife."

There was a moment's silence, followed by a slight yawn. Reno frowned, then realized that it was coming from his own mouth. "And there's your not-so summary," he said, curling backward and stretching slightly.

"Wait a minute." Reeve had a frown of his own on his face. Reno felt his gaze, and he turned toward the suited man.

"What?"

"How did you get from there, to here?"

"The fight was last night. Or this morning… I've no idea which. After that, and after making sure it was okay, we found a low-level Cure Materia that Yuffie had stolen, used that up, and healed ourselves up a little. The materia got rid of my shoulder slash, and my bullet wound. It also healed the gash on Yuffie's cheek, and the one on her head from the crash. When we'd done that, we hauled ass, left Donovan behind, and walked back to the car of Donovan's after establishing that the truck we'd stolen wasn't of any use."

"This morning? Then you-"

"Quit interrupting, 'Laney," he said. "After I'd gotten Yuffie to the car, I changed the tyre I'd shot out with the spare, fixed up the broken glass, and started driving."

"Broken glass?"

"When I shot that first guy, I had to shoot through their windscreen to do it. I guess when it crashed after I'd shot the tyre didn't help things."

"And then… okay, so why'd it take you so long?"

"Hello? Car with no windscreen, and a temporary tyre?"

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"And I assume that's when you knocked out the guard at the gate."

Reno grinned, and didn't even bother to try and look innocent. "So you _did_ hear about that."

"Yes. I did. Please explain why that was necessary, and why you didn't just get him to patch a call through to me?"

Reno frowned, pursed his lips, then raised an eyebrow. "Didn't occur to me, I guess."

"It never does," Reeve replied tiredly.

"And it's not like it's my fault, anyway," he said, pointing an accusing finger at the man who had just questioned him. "_You_ have my ID, remember?" At Reeve's slightly guilty expression, he snickered. "See?"

"I do. I suppose that's my fault, then?"

"Damn straight."

"All right. Blame accepted."

"There anything else you nosy bastards want to know while I'm at it?"

There was a slight pause, then Elena spoke up. "Didn't you say that… you didn't cure your side until after you had killed Donovan?"

"Yeah… so?"

"The bullet wasn't still in there, was it?"

Reno winced, knowing full-well the effect that would have had. "Do you think I'm stupid?" he asked incredulously. "I've been shot enough times to know what little good that'd do!"

"Then you got it out?"

"Yuffie did," he said hesitantly. "She dug it out after we found a stream, on the second day. Wouldn't let me walk any further until I had it removed." He glanced at Rude. "You two would get along real well, ya sadist."

"I'm sure," was Rude's blunt reply.

Another yawn bubbled to the surface before Reno could reply. With an exaggerated sigh he leaned further back on the couch, stretching his tall form out to take up the remainder of the little free space left. There was a slight noise beside him, and then another. Opening eyes that had slipped inconsiderately closed, Reno looked sideways at his two partners, only to see their hands covering their mouths. Elena scowled at him, while Rude only looked mildly surprised.

"Tired?" he asked, amused at the chain reaction he'd caused by simply yawning.

"Only slightly. We've been awake just as long as you, you know."

"You should have slept, then," he returned carelessly.

"I see that now that you're fine," Elena snapped.

Reno frowned, then turned puzzled Mako eyes to the blonde woman's, then to Rude's. "You two get back fine?" he asked boredly, though he was more interested in the answer than he was willing to admit.

"Fine," Rude replied.

"Just fine?" he pried.

"We made it to where we'd parked your car earlier on in the evening without a hitch, and took that back. Didn't you notice it parked on the curb?"

"I noticed it," Reno said. "So no trouble at all, then?"

"No. We got separated on the rooftops to begin with, but I just followed the gunfire and we managed to get out okay. It seems the bad luck, like usual, stayed with you."

"Thanks."

"No problem," Elena offered with a slight wink, which soon dissolved into a yawn.

Reno cursed as his jaw began to open against his will, and with a futile expression he let his corresponding yawn go, stretching once again. When done he let out a low whistle. "Fuck."

"No. Sleep."

The three Turks turned to face Reeve, who was looking at them all with a vaguely mirthful expression. "Are there any more immediate questions?"

"Hell, no. I'm all questioned out."

"Me neither."

"… "

"Then that's that. You three have the day off. No. Scratch that, you can have the week off."

"A… week?"

Reeve glanced at Reno, his expression thoughtful. Reno scowled, seeing the shrewd gleam enter the dark eyes.

"Yes. A week. It begins after you've filed your report."

"… Now? Are you _kidding_?" Reno exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. "I just told you what happened!"

"No, not now. After you've all had some sleep. Later, I want that report. For now, you're all going to bed."

"We aren't kids, Reeve," Reno said. "You're not my mother. We'll sleep when we fucking well please."

"No, but you're perfectly capable of acting like children. When was the last time you all slept?" After a moment of silence, Reeve continued. "Exactly. Now, Reno, stop being spiteful just to mock me. Consider this an official order. Go to bed, all of you. Anything else that I can't do can be better taken care of later."

"But first can't we-"

"_Sleep_!"

"… Yes, mum." But Reno didn't argue anymore. He got up and pulled the fingers mid-stretch, heading down the hallway to the room he usually slept in while here. With a final grunt of effort, he sunk onto the bed, barely managing to pull the covers over his still-clothed body before he felt all his energy leave him and everything else diminished into oblivion.

* * *

Author's notes: Okay guys, I'm back, and man have I been busy! The story is now finished… but here's the deal: Apparently I had more left to write than I'd assumed, and so instead of one chapter left… you're getting three. Yep, three. Who would've thought it? I hope there aren't any complaints… The chapters are going up once a day from hereon-in. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

_motoko: I really hope you're not complaining about all the chapters? I just basically decided that it was time to get it on the go, before I procrastinated a little too much. Hope you enjoy the chapter!_

_Tijuana__ Pirate: Okay… so you don't have to be sad yet, lol, since there's more chapters left than I thought I'd need… Thank you so much for your compliments on the characters and the dialogue – you should know by now that I hate it when a character is OC. And yes, you were right, there is the possibility of a sequel… it all depends how the last chapter is received, really. Tell me what you think!_

_Eternal Wanderer: Shudders I didn't want Donovan taken alive, no… and it made a lot more sense to finish him off. In a way, it really is tying off loose ends, as opposed to jailing him and leaving it all hanging; more closure, this way. And as for __Reno__ giving his friends a fright… what can I say… he's an asshole. _

_Riyue: Thanks for you comments, and the next chapter is done… as is the next… and the next… _

_Angel Yuffie: Yup, concussed Yuffie is still capable of being the great annoyer… just another aspect of her charming personality. Lol. And thanks for your support on the sequel, we'll see how it goes…_

_The Burning Misery: As to the idea of how materia works, I decided it probably wouldn't be such a good idea to let it run like it did in the game. I've worked out a system, and you're right, it is one that seems to be quite commonly used: the idea that an ether doesn't restore a person's mp, but restores the materia's mp instead. In a story, it makes a little more sense, and helps to make things a little more realistic. Thanks for your review! I appreciate your comments, and it's good to see you're still reading. And like I said to the others… the sequel is always a possibility!_

_See you all next update (tomorrow, if ffnet doesn't crap itself again)!_

_ Ealinesse._


	13. A Near End To The Madness

**Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,**

**By Ealinesse**

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. And a rusty truck that, _apparently,_ Reno and Yuffie don't want any more… not to mention a couple more trashed vehicles, the shards to a broken locator… and well, not a lot else. Go me!

**Summary:** A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane.

**Warnings:** Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language, a little Violence.

**Category:** Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Angst, Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie Arguing… Nothing too unusual, really.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Return…**

* * *

Reno's eyes snapped open, the remnants of the dream slipping from his mind as he forced himself to sit up, to wake up fully. Sleep wasn't going to do any good right now, he knew, as the images left over swirled inside his head in a confusing haze of memory and reality. He closed his eyes briefly, a knife, mischievous hazel pools superimposing over wide, innocent, warm blue eyes, and a cold grin that had always meant trouble appearing momentarily, before fading back out. Then came the inevitable key, and the crate... With a muffled curse Reno ran a hand over his face, scrubbing away any doubts about whether he was going to get back to sleep as he realized his other arm was gripping the chain around his neck fiercely.

With a scowl he looked down at the offending appendage, and consciously forced it to let go of the thin ornament. He let his hand drop to the bed, and without another thought he turned to face the digital clock on the small cabinet beside him. 11:30. In the morning. Reno felt his scowl deepen.

_Great,_ he thought bitterly. _You've only been sleeping for about three hours and already your twisted mind has managed to conjure up something else for you to think about_…

With a halfhearted curse Reno pushed the covers aside and went to the curtained window. Tugging at the drapes slightly he pulled the fabric away a crack, and peered out to the street below, his eyes catching on the two cars parked by each other. Without thinking his hands snaked into the pocket of his pants, to the keys to the red car that had inadvertently followed him. He picked them out, twirling them idly in his grip around the small metal keychain, before letting them drop to the ground. He didn't need them – didn't want them.

Reno let the curtain go, watching as it swayed closed, then lifted his arms in the air, a stretch capturing him and forcing him to work the kinks of the past three days from his no-doubt knotted muscles. The movement shuffled him backward a step, and he felt the back of his knees connect with the bed's edge. He turned around when he was done, eyed the rumpled sheets with disgust at his inability to even doze, and left the room.

Reeve could order him to sleep all he wanted, it didn't mean he would. He was exhausted, but also overtired. What he really needed was more coffee.

He headed down the hall, slipping quietly with long paces past the closed doors, smirking slightly at the faint snores that rose from the rooms. He was just about at the entrance to the lounge when a faint splinter of light caught his eyes, filtering through the otherwise darkened hallway.

Reno glanced to his left, to the partly open door to the last room. Without really thinking he felt his legs take him first to the door, where he lounged for a second against the frame, and then all the way in. He tipped his head to the side at the sight of the slumbering figure, momentarily envious at her ability to simply drown everything out and sleep. He was about to leave when something caught his attention.

He took a step closer to the bed as a muffled noise escaped from Yuffie's parted lips. Puzzled, he eyed her more carefully, thinking her to perhaps be caught in the middle of a dream. It wasn't until she lifted her arm slightly and covered her eyes with it that Reno realized what was wrong. He winced. Walking over to the curtain without second thought he drew the two drapes closed more tightly, successfully halting the blinding sliver of sunlight that had been slipping in through the window and onto the bed.

He turned back to the bed, raising an eyebrow as a faint mumbled thanks issued from the mouth of the semi-conscious girl. The arm that had before been shielding the closed eyelids fell back, and Reno watched as her movements stilled. Shaking his head in disbelief he cast his eyes over the room, looking for anything else that was off, before settling his gaze on the glass of water that Elena had placed there earlier. It was empty.

What the hell.

Not really knowing why, and not particularly caring, he retrieved the drained glass and headed out to the kitchen. He'd been going that way anyway. Boiling the jug, he brewed some coffee, filling the oversized mug he'd long ago claimed as his own to the top with the steaming water. Not bothering with the milk, he snagged the glass he'd just filled, his ridiculously strong coffee, and headed back into the room where he'd found Yuffie.

The first thing he noticed was that she'd moved. Again. Reno placed the glass quietly down on the bedside table and straightened up. Taking a sip of his coffee, he felt the reassuringly hot bite of the strong liquid as it burned its way down his throat. Lifting the mug away for only a second before bringing it back, Reno glanced at Yuffie as she rolled restlessly to the side with an unreadable gaze. When her movements didn't stop, Reno frowned.

"Yuff?"

Nothing.

Reno placed his coffee down beside the glass and placed a hand on Yuffie's shoulder, shaking it slightly. After a moment, cloudy hazel eyes slipped open.

"… Turk?"

_Those eyes…_ A flash of brown, replacing blue…

Reno blinked, ignoring the urge to frown. He'd been doing too much of that lately. "Awake?" he said at last.

"… Yeah."

Reno sat down in the chair beside the bed, leaning in to examine her pupils in the dim light. They seemed to be focusing a little better. After seeing what he'd wanted, he leaned back, snagging his coffee and draping one long leg over the armrest in a comfortable slouch.

"Better?" he asked.

"A'little." Yuffie's eyes were puzzled. "Where're we?"

"Junon. The safehouse."

"What… "

Reno shook his head. "I'll explain later. What was the last thing you remember?"

"… You… knocking out that… poor guard, I think."

"Well that was about four hours ago. We've woken you up a couple of times since, but you haven't really said anything useful up until now."

"Oh. Sorry."

Reno smirked as Yuffie lifted a hand to her temple. "Headache?"

"Nearly gone," was the quiet reply.

"Sleepy?"

"'course."

"What about the drug?"

It was Yuffie's turn to frown. She sat up slightly, propping herself up slightly against the nest of pillows that Elena had no doubt created, lifting an arm to trace along her collarbone, feeling for the faint scar. Reno watched the progress with approval, as the fact that she was able to now get up at all spoke for itself.

"It's not… really burning, anymore. I'm just… I have no energy."

"Well sleep, then."

"Will… do. Not my fault you keep… waking me up…"

The yawn that Yuffie affected before her half-lidded eyes fluttered closed caught. Reno slapped an annoyed hand over his mouth as his jaw stretched against his will again, and before he got the chance to let it convince him he was still tired, he took another sip of the coffee, settling back in the chair slightly.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but it couldn't have been any longer than about five minutes – he still hadn't finished his coffee – when there was the creaking of a door in the distance, followed by the distinct shuffling of feet. Reno looked up, watching as moments later the tousled figure of his blonde partner crept around the corner, her dark eyes washing over the scene in sleep-fogged recollection.

"Thought I heard someone," she muttered, trudging into the room with a sleepy smile. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"What are you doing out of bed?" he countered.

"Getting a coffee. Can't sleep."

Reno lifted his mug, tilting it forward and offering the cup, but Elena just shook her head.

"Ugh, no thanks. I don't care what you say, your coffees have ten times the amount of whack as mine."

Reno shrugged and finished off the drink, placing it down on the table. He turned back to Elena. "Everyone else asleep?"

"Yes. And you should be too." Then Elena shook her head again with a derisive snort, flicking a stray blonde hair out of her face in annoyance. "What am I thinking? You don't listen to anyone. Is she all right?"

Reno glanced at Yuffie, then back to Elena. "Yeah. Woke her before."

"Oh. So did I. I was just gonna do it again. How was she?"

Reno smirked. "Bitching that I was waking her up again. A little more lucid than last time I saw her, though."

Elena nodded. "Good. Better than before, then. Gimme your cup."

Reno handed the empty mug over and smirked as the blonde looked disgustedly inside.

"Gross," she said. "You used half the tin. That stuff at the bottom's going to be tough as cement if you don't wash it out, and we'll have to throw out _another_ cup." She turned away and began to leave, then seemed to think better of it. She paused, raised a blonde eyebrow as she looked back at them, whispering something under her breath. Eventually, she just offered a short laugh and walked away, out into the kitchen. Reno watched with a raised eyebrow. "Strange woman," he muttered.

"Heard that," came the call from the kitchen.

"Right," he retorted, getting to his feet and following her out. He pulled out a chair and sat down at the small table. He hadn't even realized that he was looking out the hallway to Yuffie's room until Elena spoke up, placing another full mug of coffee down beside him.

"It's not your fault, you know."

Reno glanced sharply up at Elena, expression wary. "What do you mean, 'it's not my fault'?"

"That you turned around and Donovan got to her."

Reno didn't answer, only sat back in the chair slightly. He lifted the mug to his lips, peering callously at Elena over the rim.

"I wasn't… with the Turks when you were partnered with Donovan, Reno. But… I know that Rude was paired with you just after that. He doesn't say much about it, but when you were gone… and when you came back, I-"

Reno scowled. "You're too nosy for your own good, you know that, 'Laney?"

The blonde shrugged, meeting his eyes levelly. "I do. Comes with the lack of Shinra training, trust me. But seriously," she added. "It's not your fault. I know you'll never admit anything like that, but… you have to know that. And, I don't care what you think, It's good to have you back."

Reno raised an eyebrow. She was right about that – he wasn't going to discuss it. He wasn't going to let her know that she had been a little too perceptive. Again. "Whatever, rookie," he mused, getting to his feet and going over to the couch, climbing easily over the back of it instead of going around. "Stop acting so weak and just drink your damn coffee."

There was the sound of a chair scraping against the linoleum ground, and Reno tilted his head backward just in time to see an open hand descending above him. He ducked, but the soft blow ruffled against the hair on the top if his head anyway. He turned away, smirking.

"Stubborn ass."

"Sleep well, 'Laney," he replied with a brief laugh as he heard her steps recede down the hall.

"Go to bed, jerk," was the mirthful reply, just before the hall door closed and he was left alone.

* * *

He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep again until the soft click of a door woke him. Reno didn't open his eyes, merely raised an eyebrow as someone sat down just beside him. From the amount of noise the person had made by merely walking across to the other side of the room, he could guess who it was.

"Reeve," Reno acknowledged.

"Ah, so you're 'awake' now, are you? Didn't I order you to go to bed?"

Reno shrugged, cracking open an eye. "Nice try. Won't work, though."

"Well, I tried."

"You should give it up," Reno retorted carelessly. "Orders don't work."

"No, I've gathered that much."

There was a short silence, then Reeve got to his feet and walked to the window. Reno watched him go, scowling as the slightly shorter man pulled a curtain open, letting the bright afternoon light spill haplessly through the room.

"I talked to Godo a while ago."

Reno opened the other eye, sitting up slightly. "What about it?"

"He was… understandably relieved. The missing persons reports have been dropped, and he is sending two of his aides over this afternoon to gather her since he has business to attend to." Reeve glanced momentarily at him. "I said there was no hurry, and that she was perfectly safe."

Reno shrugged. "Which aides?"

"Staniv… and Shake, since they are the only ones not detained."

Reno let a smirk play onto his face. "Great. Guess who's going to get blamed again."

Reeve shook his head with a slight roll of his eyes. "No. Last time was a one-off. Apparently Shake has been reprimanded for interfering with you, and not only that, he regrets his actions. Godo has assured me he won't try anything this time."

"Uh-huh. Brilliant." Reno let his eyes slide closed again.

"Godo also doesn't blame you. He, of course, knows Yuffie better than nearly anyone. Apparently it's in their lineage to be… troublesome."

Reno snorted, but otherwise didn't reply.

Reeve fixed him with a pointed stare. "Godo also said you're getting a lot better at saving lives, rather than ending them."

"That man is even blunter than you, and what he says is also a matter of debate."

"Perhaps," Reeve said with a slight shrug. "But he's grateful that you've brought her home alive. Again."

"Not my fault she decided it'd be fun to come along. I _told_ her to leave."

Reeve smiled, and Reno decided it was one he didn't like. "Yes, I know. But apparently, as Elena said, she shares the same regard for orders as you."

"I feel _so_ appreciated."

Reeve just shook his head. "Whatever, Reno." There was a pause. "I suppose you're wandering what happened to the rest of Donovan's men, then?"

He opened his eyes again and cocked his head to the side. That was something he'd forgotten about earlier, though who knew why. Perhaps he was still tired… "Just slightly."

"Well they've been caught and… dealt with."

Reno sat up. "Dealt with?"

Reeve shook his head. "No. Let me rephrase that. They're in custody in Midgar under heavy Shinra guard. They face a trial of the state in no less than a month, under the charge of treason. Also, some of those out searching located the original car you stole – Donovan's."

"Find something?"

"A trunk full of the powder compound of the drug, in its original form. Perhaps another reason why Donovan was so hot on your heels to begin with. It's being destroyed as we speak. As far as we know, it's the last shipment he had."

"What about the river?"

"They're clearing it up now, also," Reeve replied. "Donovan has been taken, and the rest of the mess is being cleaned up and stored as potential evidence. You'll have to go over it before you make your report, I'm sorry."

Reno smirked. "No you're not."

Reeve laughed and tugged at his goatee with a raised eyebrow. "No. You're right, I'm not. It's a rare sight, seeing you do paperwork."

They fell silent for a while before Reno saw something spark in Reeve's eyes.

"Are you aware the signal on your locator failed just last night?"

Reno blinked, then frowned. "That was… in the bag you gave me originally? The one with all the loose change?"

"Yes. You don't know why it died?"

"I can't even remember having it with us a lot of the time. I mean… it was with me until Trent, I know that. But after that… I'm not sure it came with us."

Reeve shook his head. "It must have. Its signal cut out where you fought Donovan, the men have pinpointed that with their own location. Here," Reeve pointed to a place on the digital display by the cameras.

Reno got to his feet and walked over to the monitor, glancing briefly at the GPS and then up at Reeve. "Then I've got no fucking idea. I didn't move it, or deactivate it."

"That's confusing," Reeve mused with a slight frown. "Perhaps there was a glitch in the software."

"Oh, that's real reassuring for the future," Reno muttered, heading back to the couch.

"We'll see once we get all the items back. Perhaps it was damaged somehow, with all that tree climbing."

Reno scowled at the tone, but his eyes glinted in amusement. "Stick you out in the forest for two days and see how you like it."

"No thanks, my office is jungle enough."

Reno glanced at the paper-strewn table and stretched himself out more with an exaggerated sigh, lifting an arm and messing up the already haphazard papers even further, not bothering to stop them from falling to the ground. "Better you than me."

"We'll see," Reeve said, turning to leave and pointedly ignoring the mess Reno was making. "I'm going to go and make a few phone calls. Have fun planning that report later… "

Reno growled at the suited back as Reeve left, and was about to close his eyes again when something obscured the light from the curtain that Reeve had opened. He looked up and shook his head at the bald man, who at least knew how to be silent. Now here was someone he could count on to not talk much…

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

… Or not.

Reno scowled. "Why is everyone asking me that? You've had just as much sleep as me."

"We weren't running around with injuries through a dense forest for most of that time."

Reno rolled his eyes as Rude just shook his head. A sudden weight on his chest caused him to look away, and Reno blinked down at the items that had just been dropped on him. Sitting up, he let a wide grin spread across his face as he eyed the two sets of objects. "Now that's more like it."

"Thought you'd agree with me."

Reno pulled on his leather combat gloves quickly, his fingers slipping comfortably and familiarly through the gaps at the end. That done, he adjusted the clips on them slightly, and examined the handiwork with a brief nod. He gathered up the other item left there and ran his fingers over it lightly. There was only one uniform he'd ever had to wear in his life, and it was now complete again. Nearly. Without a word he got to his feet and stepped away from them, flicking one of the hidden switches on the side and watching as his nightstick flared to life without a hitch.

Flicking it off, he turned to his partner, who was watching him quietly. "Where'd you find it? Some asshole knocked it away in the alley – was it there?"

Rude nodded. "Reeve's men found it that night, after detaining the others. The gloves Reeve took off you earlier, before the mission. He thought you might like them back."

"How kind of him."

"… "

That was better. No questions. He was about to shift his feet off the couch so his partner could sit down when he was saved from having to do so. Reno just shook his head as his legs were lifted, then dumped unceremoniously onto the ground. He only just managed to stop himself from slipping off when Rude took a seat beside him, before grabbing the television remote from the top of the papers and sitting backward.

"Nice," Reno commented. "Asking ring a bell?"

"Not with you," was the blunt reply.

Reno laughed and shook his head. "Right."

The comforting hum of the tv echoed through the room for a while, but like usual there was nothing on except the average daytime crap. Reno turned the remote down when Rude offered it to him, and the bald man shrugged before flicking the screen off.

"Reeve tell you that Donovan has been taken care of?"

"Yeah. Where'd they take him?"

"Midgar."

He tried not to sound interested. "Ah. Great. Slumming, where he belongs."

"… Elena woke up and talked to you earlier, didn't she?"

Reno rolled his eyes. "Of course."

Rude shrugged. "She was just concerned. She doesn't know a lot about it, but she's just-"

"Being a woman," Reno finished for him. "A _nosy_ woman who worries too much." His hands found their way to the small chain, and he fingered it idly, the soft rustling jingle breaking the silence. Now that he knew Donovan had been taken to Midgar, the pull was stronger. He'd managed to avoid the thoughts before, but since that dream…

Reno quelled the urge to shake his head in frustration, and dropped the chain. There was nothing for him to see there, especially since Meteor had leveled everything that had still been standing, not to mention his chances of finding Ashley in one piece. But that no longer mattered. It was more the principal than anything, the feeling that it seemed _right_ to go back, to prove to himself that it was all over, and to lay his demons to rest...

He snorted softly as his thoughts turned mocking. Principal, moral… Since when had a Turk needed those?

"You're going to Midgar soon, aren't you?"

Reno glanced up at Rude, but didn't say anything. He shouldn't really have been surprised. Of all the people in the house Rude would be the one who knew, and it wasn't just the man's scary knack for uncanny intuition, either. Rude had been his second partner – the one after Donovan, and the only one ever since. He knew all the details, he was sure; and what he hadn't told him, Tseng certainly had.

Reno let his head drop back on the arm of the couch, and he looked at Rude with a shrug. "Yeah."

There was a short silence, and Reno frowned. Rude wouldn't stop him, but…

"I suppose you want me to make your excuses for you?"

Oh. Reno smirked, shaking his head at what that implied. "Elena is going to kill you if you do."

"Too bad. The helipad is already cleared - I checked - and it leaves when you're ready. You really think Reeve hadn't already planned that week-long holiday?"

He shrugged. "Who knows what Reeve thinks? Personally, I think he's dying to see my report."

"See you actually finish it, perhaps."

Reno pulled the fingers at Rude, then got to his feet, retrieving his nightstick. Ignoring the lingering effects of the past few days' ordeal, he cracked his neck and reached for his keys that hung on the hook in the kitchen. Pocketing them, and gathering his wallet Reeve had placed on the kitchen counter, he turned to the bald man. "You're sure?"

Rude shrugged, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. "I'll just take the bullets out of her gun."

Reno snorted. "She won't shoot you."

"She'll probably try."

Reno raised an eyebrow and feigned contemplation. "Probably," he said after a moment. He turned and began making his way to the stairs at the other end of the hallway. It wasn't until his hand began to twist the handle before he realised he'd forgotten something. Again. He froze for a moment, headed back, catching Rude's expression, and stopped by the door to Yuffie's room.

She was still sleeping, he noticed with some amusement, though that was hardly surprising. At least she was looking a little better, and that gash on her cheek hadn't scarred. He eyed the tangle of sheets and the bundle underneath for a moment, before turning away without so much as a shake of his head.

"And what do you want me to tell _her_?"

Reno frowned. "Her aides pick her up this afternoon. I don't even know if she'll be awake by then. Who knows, I might even be back early. It's Elena you have to worry about." Feeling eyes on him, Reno glanced up at Rude, who managed to eye him dubiously even through the glasses he'd placed back on. "What?"

"You don't want me to say anything?"

"It's probably better if you don't."

"You just know Elena's going to."

Reno scowled. "She meddles too much."

"Nothing?"

"Tell her…"

_That she can't afford to hang around me anymore_…

"… to …"

Stay away… 

"… Have an _entertaining_ trip home on the skycab without those motion sickness pills, to watch out for attacking red dragons, to check the brakes of any fucking car she gets into, and that this 'asshole' will probably see her the next time I tell her not to tagalong on a dangerous mission."

Rude smirked. "That all?"

Reno walked toward the door, opened it, then walked straight through it. "That's all." Glancing back over his shoulder, he grinned. "Owe you one."

"Two," was the reply he received as he closed the door. "You owe me two."

Reno headed down the steps two by two and out onto the street. Fishing the keys out of his pocket, he looked up at the small Shinra-owned 'inn', unlocked the vehicle, and got in. The car started a lot easier than the ones he'd driven not long before, and he pulled away from the curb without a glance back, reveling in the comfort of his plush leather seats and the padded steering wheel. U-turning the car, he wheeled in the direction of the Junon airpad, sliding with ease into the increasing bustle that was the city's traffic during the daytime. It was so busy, in fact, that he didn't have time to think about what Yuffie was going to say when she found out he'd left, or what words he'd passed on as he dodged between lanes, skipping traffic. Nearly.

_If_ she found out. _If_ she woke up before he got back. If—

"_Fuck_ it, you _are_ going soft!" Reno slammed his hand against the steering wheel and squared his jaw. Midgar was calling, and it certainly wasn't part of his job description to feel guilt, no matter what Elena said. No matter what anyone said. He scowled, veering the car sharply into the left lane, then to the right again as a truck got in his way. It was time for another cigarette. Or a beer - he hadn't had one of those in a while, and deprivation was starting to addle his brain.

Fuck Donovan, sometimes it just didn't pay to be human; he'd never been all that good at it anyway.

* * *

Yuffie knew more than felt the hand as it was placed on her forehead. With a slight groan she rolled onto her side, pleased to find that even just out of sleep her body was behaving itself a little better. She felt the cool hand move away as she lifted her own to rub wearily at her eyes, letting a slight yawn slip out of her mouth before cracking open her eyes to half-mast.

"… Turk?"

There was the sound of light laughter. "Not the one you're thinking of, at least."

Yuffie sat up slightly, the voice coming out of the haze familiar but not placeable. She frowned a little, then pushed herself up on her elbows and opened her eyes fully, the mist beginning to clear.

"Elena?"

The blonde woman seated beside her nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "How're you feeling?"

Yuffie did a quick once-over, surveying the strength of her muscles by lifting an arm, and then a leg. The pain was gone, she noticed, and only a slight headache remained – nothing that more sleep and a Cure wouldn't heal. "Much better," she said, grinning as she realised it was true.

Elena nodded. "Good. Water?"

Yuffie looked at the proffered cup blankly for a second then nodded. With hands that obeyed with more dignity than they'd held in a while Yuffie took the glass from Elena and held it to her lips, not really knowing how thirsty she actually was until the cool liquid began to trickle down her throat. She finished off the glass quickly, aware of the blonde's appraising gaze, and when done she placed the item down on the table.

"Thirsty, huh? That mean you're hungry, too?"

Yuffie blushed as her stomach let out a slight gurgle. Bunching a fist, she aimed a light punch at the offending area, which elicited a laugh from Elena.

"It's certainly not your fault you're hungry," Elena said with a grin. "It's not your fault you were stuck in a forest with Reno for nearly three days without food, either. Don't worry, Rude's cooking us all some food now. Do you think you're up to coming out to the kitchen for a while now that you're awake, or would you rather stay in bed?"

Yuffie thought it through. She'd probably been sleeping for ages, and she really _was_ hungry. If they were going to the trouble of cooking some extra food, then the least she could do would be to at least _try_ and get up to eat it. "I think I'll get up," she said after a moment. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Since you've arrived? Well, It's about one-thirty now, so perhaps… seven hours?"

It wasn't enough – not nearly enough even with the hours she'd been sleeping in the car. But she didn't think she wanted to sleep anymore right now anyway, not with the prospect of food beckoning. She pushed at the blankets and they came away easily, then slipped her feet to the ground. In the back of her mind she noticed that her shoes and socks had been removed, but that she was still clothed in everything except the hoody she'd been wearing earlier. She began to get up, shoving at the bed in her rush to stand.

"Okay?" Elena asked, hands raised at the ready in case she wasn't quite as prepared as she thought. "You got it?"

Yuffie blinked away the residual dizziness that came with the concussion and nodded, wincing slightly as her head reminded her that that wasn't such a good idea. She shuffled forward, glad at least she'd regained the ability to walk at a slow pace. "Ugh… concussions _suck_."

"Oh yeah," Elena replied in an all-too knowing way, a pang of sympathy in her voice. "That they do. Come on, let's go get some food, I'm famished too."

They made their way out to the kitchen slowly, the blonde hovering slightly but not enough to annoy. Yuffie smiled as a seat was pulled out for her at the table, and a blanket was placed around her shoulders. Who would have thought Turks capable of such hospitality… Perhaps it was just Reno that lacked feeling, or maybe it was simply that they'd finally gotten a chance at a normal life…

"Here."

Yuffie blinked up at the large man as he placed a plate of food in front of her. Lifting the fork that was placed beside it, she felt her mouth begin to water at both the tremendous amount of food there, and how good it looked.

"Ruins his image, doesn't it?"

Yuffie couldn't help but grin as she caught the look Rude shot Elena at the comment. "Just slightly," she said between bites.

"I've tried to get him to wear an apron for the hell of it, but I think he's paranoid that Reno'd get a photo of it and do something awful with it."

"_Eat_, Elena."

Yuffie snorted at the tone in Rude's voice, but Elena only winked at her, her grin widening. They ate the remains of their meal in relative silence, and she briefly contemplated asking where Reno was since there was a fourth steaming plate sitting out, untouched. She must have been staring, because the next thing she knew there was a laugh from behind her.

"You want my plate too, Yuffie?"

Yuffie blinked and spun in her seat. "Reeve?" she asked, incredulous, as he took a seat at the table.

"That's my name, I believe. Feeling better, now?"

Yuffie nodded, smiling. "What are you doing here?"

"Well up until this morning we were all waiting for Reno to come back - and you, it seems. Now I'm catching up on paperwork, and sorting through the last of the mission details that are yet to be cleared up, slowly working my way through that..."

Yuffie glanced over at the stack of papers littering the coffee table, wincing at the haphazard way in which they were strewn everywhere. "All that…?"

"All that. Well, actually, some of that Reno will be working through when I get my hands on him, but up until then…"

Yuffie blinked, noticing the distinct lack of a fifth plate as she ate her meal. She was sure Reno had woken her up earlier, and that they'd been _here_ when he had, so... "Where… ?"

"Is Reno?" Elena finished for her.

"Yeah."

"Midgar by now, apparently." Elena scowled, jerking a thumb at Rude. "This idiot let him pilot to Midgar, on a _helicopter_, by _himself_, without any sleep."

She could have sworn she saw Rude wince. "Oh," she said after a second, not sure why she was disappointed. She'd spent three days in the wild running around, arguing with him, carrying his sorry ass around… why should she care? But even with that logic, she found herself confused. It just seemed so… hollow, that he'd gone. It wasn't that she minded the company of these three – or really deliberately sought out Reno's - even though she barely knew two thirds of them. She'd worked with Reeve plenty of times, had had a fairly amusing conversation with Elena once while tied to Da Chao, and Rude… well, she'd seen him when they'd come to collect Reno from Wutai after the _last_ incident, and despite who they were, they weren't all _that_ bad. But…

"I called your father a while ago, Yuffie."

Yuffie's head snapped up and all thoughts of the elusive Turk slipped from her mind. "My… father?" Now that everything was over, that she could afford to sit back and just let herself _think_, the thoughts that had been buzzing around on the edge of her consciousness for days came rushing in. She grinned up at Reeve. "Did the old man have a heart attack while I was gone?"

A smile twitched Reeve's mouth, and he covered his lower face with his hand, tugging idly at the bristly black beard. "Something like that," he replied. "And while he wasn't surprised that you'd managed to find trouble, he _was_ surprised with who you managed to find it with. Again."

Yuffie forced her grin to stay. "So… he's not too mad, then?"

"Not really. He's removed the missing persons' report, and the bounty."

Yuffie's jaw dropped. "He put a… bounty…?"

"Well, after you didn't turn up at Tifa's birthday function, and then again after you didn't turn up at home later the next day, Godo put out a missing persons report after talking to Tifa. He'd received no ransom for you, or anything like that, but he had people out searching. He really had no idea what had happened."

"Heh… oops."

"He also said to ask you where your PHS was during all this?"

Yuffie blinked, and for the first time in days she wondered what had happened to her bag, which contained her materia, PHS, and extra clothes. Then she thought about Tifa's present, the small wooden music box which she'd been carrying separately. "It must still be in the alleyway," she said slowly. "After I chased that kid I kind of got caught up in it all, and I must have forgotten it."

"Well, my men will look later for you. They've already contained all of Donovan's men, and retrieved the things Reno left behind – they have to go back and search again this afternoon anyway." Reeve looked pointedly at her. "Godo has sent Staniv and Shake over on the skycab, and they'll be here later this afternoon to pick you up and take you back, since he is detained himself."

Yuffie nodded, twirling her fork with the scraps left on her plate, knowing the lecture that awaited her as soon as her two aides arrived. Her father had tolerance, but his servants tended to be… very straight-laced and disapproving, despite their fondness for her. "Man, they're so going to kill me… "

* * *

Yuffie flicked the channel a few times, biting back a yawn as she dumped the remote. Of course, it didn't help that she'd turned the volume down to prevent giving herself a worse headache, and that each time something remotely interesting came on it, for some pathetic reason, required sound to make it worthwhile. "Nothing, nothing, nothing," she sighed, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders and flicking the screen off.

"Nothing on tv, I take it?"

Yuffie looked up at Elena and pulled a face of disgust. "Nothing at all."

"Like usual. I'll say one thing – the networks were the only _good_ thing that Meteor destroyed out of Midgar. Tv just isn't the same. Coffee?" the blonde asked, switching on the jug.

"Sure," she replied. "I can't remember the last time I had any."

"Well, my last cup was about half an hour ago, and the one before that, too. I don't get how you're still awake, myself."

Yuffie shrugged. "I slept in the car, too."

"Slept?" Elena's tone was dubious as Yuffie watched her pour the two mugs. "From what Reno said you were practically out cold."

Yuffie smirked. "And did he tell you the condition he was in through the Junon forests for most of the time?"

Elena shook her head, exasperated. "Only a little, but the rest of us are smart enough to guess." Elena turned to face her, her mahogany eyes suddenly serious. "I know you weren't supposed to interfere, Yuffie, but it's a good thing you did. Chances are that stubborn asshole wouldn't have even made it out of the forest without someone dragging him out of there. The mission botched, and we don't know why or how Donovan knew we were there."

Yuffie accepted the coffee with a duck of her head and took a sip, not really sure how to answer a thanks from a Turk. Her eyes flew open at the taste, and she took a tentative second sip.

Elena laughed nervously. "Oh… um, sorry. I like my coffee strong, I forgot to ask-"

"No, it's all right," Yuffie cut in. "Strong is good. At least it's not Cloud's… I swear, there's something about the Mako that made him drink the stuff like a fish… "

Elena blinked, then shook her head. "You haven't tasted Reno's coffee yet, obviously."

"… Strong?"

"In every sense of the word. If it sets to the cup, it's like cement."

"Jeez…"

They fell into a comfortable silence, the only other noise apart from the faint slurping of coffee being the slight breeze that filtered in through a partly open window. Yuffie finished her drink quickly, definitely sure she wasn't going to sleep for a while now, and placed the mug in amidst the stack of papers on the coffee table.

"Gods… I'd hate to be Reeve," she muttered.

Elena must have heard the comment, because she laughed. "More like I'd hate to be Reno. Three days away and he still has to write a detailed mission synopsis. It wouldn't have been so bad, only the mission went wrong…"

"…Sucks," Yuffie said. "When we got to the Wutaian station last time after the dragon attacked the skycab, he tried to burn the reports. I guess he's not overly fond of them, huh."

Elena's eyes visibly widened over the rim of the coffee cup, a delicate blonde eyebrow raised. "Again? He didn't tell us that! I know he's done it once, but surely…"

"It didn't work this time." Yuffie smirked. "They had a second set of insurance papers waiting for him, and locked us in the office until it was finished."

A thoughtful look passed onto the blonde Turk's face. "Perhaps I should mention that to Reeve; he always does seem to get away with some excuse for not doing paperwork. Tseng was stricter and Reno would listen to him – to a point - but Reeve… I think this time he feels a little guilty for the whole mess."

Yuffie grinned. "All right, try it, but don't tell Reno I told you because he'll kill me."

"Deal?"

Elena gripped her mug with one hand, and then extended the other one. Yuffie blinked down at the offered arrangement then took the hand, shaking it firmly before letting it go. The blonde grinned openly at her, said something about new methods, then turned back to her coffee. Yuffie dropped her hand to her lap, unable to prevent the way her grin widened at the thought. It occurred to her briefly that it was odd that she was here, on level ground with the Turks, making mundane little deals while she was supposed to be with Avalanche. But… well, did it really matter? She'd never harbored anything extremely personal against any of the Turks except Reno, for obvious reasons, and now that the whole mess with Meteor was over and they were working with Reeve on _their _side, what did it really matter that she'd helped them with something?

She frowned, and shoved the thoughts away. Now was not the time to think about it. Letting out a low whistle under her breath, she wrapped her arms around her knees a little tighter and moved backward so that the blonde on the other end of the sofa would have more room.

"Reno reached Midgar safely."

Yuffie fairly jumped, one hand flying out to stabilize herself on the back of the cushy chair. If it had been anyone else she would have glared up at them, but seeing as it was Rude who had just crept into the room so silently…

Elena distinctly bristled after glancing briefly at Yuffie. "Good."

"Good?" Rude returned.

"Yes, good, because when he gets back here, I'm going to kill him."

Rude shook his head slightly and walked over to the table, retrieving the two dumped cups and carrying them back up to the bench. "You know he had to go."

Elena sighed, and Yuffie caught the hard glint fade from her chocolate eyes, replaced by something a little softer. "I know, but he _could_ have waited until he'd had some sleep."

"No he couldn't. He took the key off Donovan before he died, it's just something he had to finish off. He does as he pleases, you should know that by know."

Yuffie frowned, confused. Why had Reno gone to Midgar, anyway? By the sounds of things he had to file a report for the archives, and now that everything was over the Turks had a week of vacation to do anything they wanted. Why _now_? Why not wait, as Elena had said? "Why did… he go?"

The two Turks turned to face her, and Yuffie couldn't help but feel that she'd just pried into something that didn't involve her. "Sorry," she said quickly. "It's nothing to do with me."

But Elena's look changed. "No, you're wrong. It does have a little to do with you, and I'd imagine you're another reason why he left so quickly."

Yuffie blinked.

"_Elena_."

"Hmm?"

"Reno said to pass on to stop being so damn nosy."

"Did he now?" Elena's tone indicated she didn't care. "Well tell him that _next_ time he has something to say, he can say it to me _before_ he leaves."

"I'd imagine he'd have no problem with that, normally."

"Not normally, _no_."

"_Elena_."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "_Fine_," she sighed. "I won't be nosy, but I _will_ tell her what's going on."

"Some, of what's going on. _Some_."

Yuffie looked up at Rude, watched as he picked up a turned-over chair and settled on it, facing the two of them. She met his gaze, confused. Admittedly, she did have questions, and it looked like they were willing to answer – to a point – but what did anything Reno was doing have to do with her? It wasn't like she'd even known him that long, or even knew anything about him apart from his penchant for drinking, smoking, and otherwise being an all-round pain in the ass.

"What did he tell you about Donovan, Yuffie?"

She bit her lip in concentration, then lifted her arm in a so-so gesture. "Who he was, that he was his ex-Turk partner, some of what he did, about the drug, some about the final mission and… what Donovan was planning to do."

"Anything else?"

… Ashley is dead, brat. And by the way, if you're going to go and pry into the charming little details of my life that I've been trying to fucking forget, then you'd better know that Ashley isn't a she. He's a he. Someone I got involved in the whole mess, and that I shouldn't have – just a kid…

She shrugged. "Only a little about the kid – Ashley."

Rude took his glasses off, frowning, dark eyes curious. "He told you about Ashley?"

"A little. Not much. I asked."

"I see."

"What about the key?" It seemed it was Elena's place to pick up the questions. "Did he tell you anything about it?"

Yuffie shook her head. "Nothing. What  key?"

Elena smiled, shaking her head slightly. "That seems to be where he stops telling people who pry."

"What is this… key?"

"I take it Reno didn't tell you what happened with Ashley?"

"Only that he got too close, and that he should have seen it coming. Something about seeing an opportunity and taking it… not think about the cost?"

Rude nodded somberly. "That's how Tseng explained it to me, and what he had found out from Reno. The key… was the only thing stopping him from getting to Ashley on time."

"On time?"

"He didn't tell you what happened to the kid, did he?"

"No, but-"

"You already know the drug was used on Reno for testing," Elena cut in.  "That in itself didn't turn out well. Donovan had Reno for just under a week. During that entire time, Reno was subject to not just one, but dozens of rounds of testing of the toxin. But instead of injecting it, like had been planned when Hojo had begun developing the chemical, Donovan took a sick kind of joy in using his knife. Not only that, but the idiot slashed right beside Reno's eyes – how he got his scars, I'm sure he told you that much. You see, normally a wound wouldn't scar that badly, not crimson like Reno's, like some kind of strange tattoo, especially when cured. But because of the knife, and the repetitiveness of the 'injections', as well as the drug's reaction to Mako, they healed like that.

"One day before his daily 'treatment', he was finally given food and water. The lot of good that had done him. Without anything up until then, his body hadn't been able to cope with the stress of the drug, even with Mako infusions, and he was weak. Reno hates being defenseless. As soon as he saw who was getting him food, however, and when it became apparent that these weren't because of Donovan's orders but just because Ashley had pitied him, Reno saw a way he could exploit that weakness…" Elena's voice trailed off.

"And then he broke rule number one."

Yuffie looked to Rude. "What is rule-"

"He got too close."

Elena nodded. "Instead of keeping his distance, instead of staying back and analyzing the situation for what it was, he grew too close to the kid. Ashley, who was just a gofer for Donovan, got caught trying to help Reno out – trying to make a diversion toward the end. But Reno didn't know that, and the kid, too young to know what he'd gotten himself into, told Donovan about everything that Reno had asked him about without even realising what he'd done wrong. When Reno finally got to the exit of the vents, was nearly out and was ready to gather the kid where he'd told him to wait, Donovan found him."

"Reno said… Donovan took you hostage with that knife?" Rude asked when the blonde had finished.

Yuffie nodded. "I don't remember clearly, it's all a blur, but… yes. Before I pushed him away, made him trip, and before Reno tackled him…"

"Well that's what Donovan did with Ashley," Elena continued. "Reno was still under the effects of the drug, and by the time he'd realised what had happened Donovan had the knife to the kid's throat, and Reno had been restrained. Before he could do anything else Donovan cut him a 'deal'." The blonde scoffed at the word, and Yuffie's eyes widened slightly.

"Cutting through all the chitchat Donovan probably gave Reno, he basically made him choose. When Reno refused, Donovan set further terms, if not slightly crueler ones."

"What kind of terms?"

Rude scowled, the first really negative expression she'd ever seen appear on his face. Even in battle he'd been so calm, so blank, but now he seemed genuinely annoyed. "Donovan said since testing the drug on Mako-injected patients had proved to work a little too well, he'd try it on something else. From what we can gather, Donovan cut Ashley with his laced knife. After that… well, the kid was placed in a large box - the coffin that had been meant for Reno, apparently, had the experiments failed – and it was locked shut. As if that wasn't bad enough, Donovan set terms for the kid's release – terms Reno could never have agreed to even if he'd wanted to – and when that didn't work Donovan loaded the casket up onto the back of a truck and drove it down to the plate - to the salvage yards in the slums."

"Which plate? In Midgar?" Yuffie asked, catching the look in Elena's eyes. "Do you mean-"

"Sector Seven."

Yuffie felt a cold pit of realization form in the base of her stomach, and her blood ran cold. "But Reno was the one that… "

"Blew up the plate there?"

"… Yeah. Why would he…"

"He didn't have a choice then, or before that; to a Turk orders are supposed to be orders. The scrapheap under sector seven, the one where Donovan sent Ashley, was still operating at the time. Donovan was a little too fond of games. Shortly after the kid had been taken away, Donovan gave Reno a key, and told him to 'catch up with the brat before he gets pounded into a pulp by the metal compressor'. If he got the kid out, they both went free. If not, then… well, you can guess for yourself – it was just the one of them walking away."

Yuffie felt her already wide eyes bug out, and horror filled her. "How… did he…?"

"Make it there?" Elena shrugged, a bitter expression on her face. "He made it all right, despite the fact that he'd been forced to walk. But Donovan had been a little too snide. The key we mentioned? There were two of them, and both were needed for the coffin. Reno already held one – the one he'd been given - but the other Donovan kept around his neck. Reno didn't even find out until it was too late that there were two."

"You mean… this second key is the one that he snatched off Donovan last night? He didn't get the other key…"

"As Elena said," Rude cut in. "He didn't even get the chance. When that was over… Tseng found him by the plate. Donovan had just left him."

Yuffie lowered her eyes, and her hand raised to run over the faint pink scar across her collarbone in a morbid kind of fascination, then lifting to trace the now nonexistent gash on her cheek. It all seemed like some kind of sick, twisted fairy tale, and no matter the kind of person she knew Reno could be, this was a different man they were talking about. It was almost more than she wanted to know, despite it all.

Almost.

She looked up. "Ashley died… even though he tried, didn't he?"

Elena nodded. "He learnt the wrong way – the hardest way possible, that as a Turk it's best to trust only yourself. To not get close. It didn't help that he'd only been a Turk for a year, that he was just out of training."

"So Sector Seven was because… "

Rude shook his head, and Elena glanced at him briefly before doing the same. "I think that's up to Reno for discussion. You'll have to ask him sometime, though he most likely won't tell you. There are some things that are best left buried, and that is perhaps one of those things. He's already going to kill us for telling you that much."

Yuffie nodded, feeling mildly dazed. Even without the prospect of Sector Seven's demise, the trickery that Reno had endured was confusing, to say the least, and strangely… tragic. It was strange, to think that something like that could happen to a man who hadn't had anything to lose to begin with. But then again, as she'd told herself earlier, there had to be a reason for it all, and who was she to know…

"He said he was tying up loose ends," Yuffie said after a moment, slowly. "Donovan and Ashley, and going to Midgar… he's finishing it all off, isn't he? Getting rid of everything, like Donovan was trying to do."

A nod in reply. "Did he say something to you about it?"

"No, to Donovan right before… right before he killed him. I don't think I was supposed to hear it."

"It's what he told Tseng, too, after it all happened."

Yuffie was about to say something, about to ask a question, when a loud, demanding knock resonated through the room. Yuffie blinked, startled, watching as Rude and Elena again shared a knowing glance. "Reeve?" she asked after a second.

"No, he's in his room catching up on phone calls. I'd wager that those are your aides."

Yuffie felt a wave of joy fill her, then almost immediately after, a wave of mild panic. They were right, that _was_ Staniv's knock. The thoughts of Reno and the events she'd gotten herself tangled up in were temporarily pushed to the back of her mind as Rude got up to open the door as the knocking grew more insistent. And louder. She winced, realising the lecture that was coming, and realising that in coming home like this she'd merely traded one life-threatening situation for another.

* * *

Author's Notes: Well, yes… another chapter… again, a little slow… But it was necessary to tie it off. Again, as promised, it's next-day posting! The thirteenth and final chapter will be posted tomorrow.

_Eternal Wanderer: Yeah, __Reno__ can be an asshole… but I felt it was necessary, as you said, to relieve some of his tension. It's been a tough right for the both of them (no pun intended) and it was about time for an ice-breaker. We'll see what you think of the character development… Though the last chapter will truly tie in with that, and any possible sequel, depending on interpretation. Thanks for the compliment on my (only recently-renewed) update speed – I'm glad to see some people appreciate it, and it is always a good feeling to get a longish story complete relatively quickly. Thanks for reviewing! _

_Tijuana__ Pirate: Haha… yeah, it occurred to me to put the warning at the start of the chapter about the added length… but then I thought, 'no, I'll give them a fright'. Obviously, it worked slightly, even if it was amusing only for me. Lol. I can be a bit like that sometimes… my apologies. Hrm… capitalising the Reffie relationship. Well, we'll see when we get to the ending, and when there is talk of a sequel… we'll see also. I can't really say anything without giving it away, but I'm sure you'll know what I mean when I get there. I'm glad you enjoyed my characterisations of the others – I had hoped to keep them similar, if not a little more in-depth, than their brief appearances in Word of Mouth, so it is good to see that that effort is appreciated. And sorry for the uber-long 'overview' but I felt it was necessary after such a long period of confusion – I also wanted to show Elena, Rude, and Reeve's reactions toward it. Thank you for your lovely reviews – they're always thorough, and they're a great booster to my big head. _

_Alixen__: Thank you for your review, and no worries, suggestions and criticism are always appreciated! Regarding your first point – their difference from the game – I decided that I would make the appearance of the characters more human. I'm not saying that I'm trying to turn them into a bunch of babies, but during the game we never really got inside their heads. I always perceived the characters in the game, and in the fandom, to be two quite different things – simply because in fanfiction we have the opportunity to make them less linear. In Word of Mouth, it was Yuffie that was threatened, in Smoke and Shattered Mirrors, it is dealing with Reno's past, as well as their relationship. Collaberating any story, and dealing with the characters in relation to emotions and physical strength in any way compared to the game, is going to bring them down a notch. However, this also ties in with your second point regarding Avalanche. In my head, I see Cloud and Reno as being as stubborn as each other… But I also don't like characters being infalliable – it helps to give a reader something to be able to relate to, as well as giving a character a weakness; which is what my two stories have also dealt with so far. And as to your third point… Reno and Yuffie getting together… Yes, it is a definite, but sometimes it is just all a matter of when… I hope you like this chapter! _

_Again, thank you for you reviews, and your patience. See you all next update for the last chapter (tomorrow)!_

_Ealinesse (who doesn't want to end this fic. )_


	14. Closure

**Smoke and Shattered Mirrors,**

**By Ealinesse**

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Final Fantasy, just the plot to this story, and a couple of painfully annoying original characters. And a rusty truck that, _apparently,_ Reno and Yuffie don't want any more… not to mention a couple more trashed vehicles, the shards to a broken locator… and well, not a lot else. Go me!

**Summary:** A stakeout doesn't go as planned, and the two people least happy about it are the same two who have to drop everything and work together to keep themselves alive… and sane.

**Warnings:** Language, (Kiwi Spelling), More Language, a little Violence.

**Category:** Action/Adventure, Bad Humour, Angst, Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie being prats… Reno and Yuffie Arguing… Nothing too unusual, really.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Closure (Epilogue)…**

* * *

Okay, so maybe she wasn't about to be killed…

Yuffie found herself pulled into an immense hug as soon as she rose to her feet. A small smile crept across her face and she returned the embrace willingly. "Not going to kill me?" she whispered, leaning down to tug on Staniv's earring, a tactic that had always annoyed her older guardian.

"Not yet, at least," was Staniv's faintly amused reply as he swatted her hand away, as had become habit.

"I think spending three days with that… Turk… is punishment enough."

Yuffie rolled her eyes slightly at Shake's entirely typical reply. Despite Reno's help in Wutai a few months earlier, Shake still harbored a grudge for the redhead, and was much too stubborn to relent. But then again, so was Reno. "If you say so, shorty," she replied, letting a wide grin spread across her face. It was good to see them, even if the disapproving frowns on their faces said that they weren't entirely too happy to be spending their reunion in an assassin's safehouse.

Elena stepped forward as they parted from the large hug, and closed the outside door. "We'll leave you to catch up," she said with a small smile. "We're going to check up on Reeve. Come tell us before you go."

"And remember what we told you," Rude added. "It's not for general discussion."

"Who am I going to tell?" Yuffie said, lifting an arm and raising her hand palm-up in agreement. Rude simply nodded and the duo left. She turned to her two aides and walked back to the couch, taking a seat and pulling the blanket she'd dropped around her. Shake and Staniv also sat, looking her over for a brief moment as if to ensure she hadn't sustained any bodily harm since arriving back, before glancing at each other, apparently satisfied.

Then they frowned, turning their dark, narrowed eyes on her.

"I suppose you have an explanation for this," Staniv said abruptly.

There it went. Yuffie gulped. Okay, so she'd been wrong. Again. They _were_ mad, and they'd just wanted to make sure she was okay _before_ grilling her. She opened her mouth to reply, to try and find some sort of explanation. It quickly occurred to her that she didn't have one – she hadn't intended to get into trouble, especially not with Reno, but she _had_ interfered…

"Uh… heh…" She offered her most disarming smile, biting her lip slightly, knowing it wasn't going to be nearly enough to stop the two from launching into the rebuke that had just begun.

* * *

Two hours had passed. Only two hours. Yuffie closed her eyes, leaning back in the row of seats she'd nabbed in the back of the skycab. Despite the time of day, Staniv and her father had managed to secure a private car for them, which had most likely been undoubtedly expensive. She bit back a wince at the trouble they'd gone to to get her home today, comfortably, and realised that the reprimand she'd received earlier had this time been out of fear, and not anger. They hadn't been truly mad at her, not really, just worried when they'd received no word after days of absence.

Stretching back, a yawn escaped her, and she lifted her arms, soon finding her whole body participating in the movement. When her tired muscles threatened to cramp, Yuffie fell back again, a small smile creeping onto her lips.

"Everything okay back there, Miss Yuffie?"

"Everything's fine, Shake," she assured the shorter aide, who was up front talking with the cab driver. "Don't worry."

The man nodded and turned away, and Yuffie nestled her head back into the soft pillow, shaking it slightly as she remembered the confusion she'd no doubt displayed as Elena had handed it to her. It had been strange, saying goodbye to people she hadn't intended on visiting, but yet spending time with them hadn't been all that unpleasant. Elena was talkative, and distinctly everything she'd imagined a Turk couldn't be, and once past Rude's initial aloof exterior, it became clear that he was actually capable of holding a conversation, not to mention the odd facial expression. And to think, she'd never have known that otheriwse…

She closed her eyes, asleep before she could even register the fact, not realising that the coffee had long since worn off. It wasn't until she sat upright sharply, until a solid jolt woke her, that she even knew she'd been dreaming. Yuffie raised a hand to her cheek, gasping for breath as the dream that had terrified her while hidden from the waking world shattered. The images and sounds that had before been so vivid and clear faded out until all that was left was a cruel smile below ice blue eyes, staring mockingly onward as the large metal blocks began to descend.

"Get it together, you dimwit," she hissed to herself, running a hand through her sleep-tousled hair. "What Rude and Elena told you wasn't something intended to give you nightmares!"

"Yuffie?"

She looked up, seeing Staniv standing beside her. His expression was carefully guarded, as was generally always the case, but there was a slight lilt to his head that radiated concern. She shook her head, immediately regretting the action as her headache returned with a vengeance, then offered a brief thumbs-up. "'m fine, mother."

"Good," Staniv said with a nod, raising an eyebrow briefly. "We're in Midgar already. The cab for Wutai leaves in two hours – I'm sorry about the wait; it's the earliest afternoon round, and Godo required his helicopter today."

Yuffie blinked. "Midgar?" They weren't taking the more direct path home, from Junon? She twisted in her seat to stare out the window, her eyes taking in the newly refurbished skycab station before finally falling on the large banner in the distance. She read the sign several times, not sure why she felt so confused even after going over it, then turned back to the aide before her. So they were in Midgar, but... "Why this way?" she asked. "Why not directly from Junon?"

Staniv shrugged. "It's Sunday. Only the Midgar cab runs to Wutai on a Sunday, remember?"

Yuffie blinked again, feeling stupid. Well, that certainly made sense – after all, she'd caught numerous rides on the skycabs before, enough to know the schedule. It just seemed… odd that they'd go this way. She got to her feet, snagged the pillow on second thought, and followed Staniv as he began to exit the aisle. As they stepped out onto the loading platform any doubts as to where she was flew from her mind, as the general bustle and mayhem that surrounded the place made itself known. Pressing a hand to her temple she offered a wan grin at her aides, before ducking into the nearest shelter.

"… Ow."

"Headache, still?"

She nodded, frowned, then lifted the pillow to the back of her head and folded it around her ears. Yep, this was definitely Midgar all right. She sat down on a small bench with a groan. "Two hours, you said?"

"Unfortunately," she heard Shake reply through all the buzzing, with a scowl.

"Crap. Do we have to stay _here_?"

Seeing the look on their faces, Yuffie rolled her eyes. "We have two hours! I'm sure there's some place quieter… A café or something…"

"You're hungry again?" Staniv crouched beside her, pulling the pillow away and holding it by his side.

Her stomach gurgled, and she winced. She was really starting to hate that.

"Well, come on, then."

She watched as Staniv rose to his feet in a swish of heavy fabric, then got to her feet herself and followed the two of them through the throngs of people to the taxi checkpoint. They waited there for a while, and more prepared this time, she managed to block out most of the sounds that had previously assaulted her. Bored, she twirled her foot on the ground, hoping like hell that the next car would hurry up. When that didn't amuse her enough, she took another look around, scrutinizing the rapidly growing skyline.

New buildings were going up all the time, standing out starkly in the scarred sky. Rising with them were dozens of cranes, wrecking balls, winches, long skeletal fingers stretched outward, frozen. And on the farthest left of all the chaos, was the Western Airport. Yuffie let her eyes run along the line of numerous air-vehicles behind the large meshed fence in the distance, not really paying any particular attention until something familiar caught her eye.

Yuffie frowned, eyeing the sleek black helicopter with an appraising glance. There was something about it that was ringing a bell, despite its genuinely standard frame. It looked like one of the ones that Reeve commonly took places when he was in a hurry, or like the ones that they'd ridden in to or from various functions in the past. Her eyes narrowed, squinting past the horrible white, overcast glare as she struggled to read the tiny imprint on the side. Was that…

"Miss Yuffie? … Yuffie?"

Yuffie whipped her head around and blinked down at the hand on her shoulder, trailing her eyes up the arm and face to the worried set of ebony eyes. "I'm fine," she replied quickly, and the hand let go. "But is that helicopter… there… can you read that?"

Shake leaned forward. "Looks like one of those Shinra helicopters. Can't quite make it out, though. But why is one of Reeve's helicopters here? Only he and his direct subordinates have-"

"-Access to them," Yuffie finished off. "I know."

It made sense. Reno was in Midgar, and he'd taken a helicopter, and this was the only place that held air clearance in the entire city. The fact that it was still there meant he hadn't left yet. Before Yuffie knew what she was doing, she was on her feet, looking around for any sign of the redheaded Turk. When she spotted nothing of the sort around or in the area, she hunted for the exit and made her way towards it.

"Miss Yuffie! Where-"

"I know how we can kill some time," she replied, quickening her pace.

"Where are you going? Wouldn't it make more sense to take a taxi?"

She shook her head, ignoring the tiny demons that gleefully dug their little claws in at the movement. "It's not far, really. We can walk."

_And I don't know if he'll still be there if we have to wait…_

"But where are we walking _to_?"

This came from Staniv. Yuffie stopped and turned on her heel, shrugging. "Sector Seven."

"Sector Seven? _Why_?" Shake's tone was incredulous, confused. "There's nothing there but crushed-up rubble. Did that bump on the head do more damage than we thought?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes heavenward. "I'm going to meet someone there."

"You don't know anyone there! In fact, there is nothing there! You didn't mention this before… "

"Yuffie. Who's over at Sector Seven? No one lives there anymore, it's just rubble…"

Damn it; Staniv again. She sighed, pursing her lips. "Look, you can stay here if you want, I won't be long. I just have to… go…" What _was_ she hoping to achieve by going there? What could she possibly say? That she _knew_? "I have to go and see something," she finished lamely. "Please," she added, when the duo's expressions didn't change.

Shake placed his hand on his hip, his short figure tense, lips thin. Staniv, however, lifted his chin briefly in assent.

"All right," he said, glancing at Shake for a moment out of the corner of his eye. "But we follow."

Yuffie grinned for a moment, then turned around and began walking, picking her way through the debris-strewn path that she knew would take her to the older ruins of Midgar. It was strange, the way that the place was divided: one half new, one half old. One half sinking into the boggy grounds that plagued the area, some parts nothing more than patchy, pitiful craters, while the other areas rose up, streaking heavenward in a purge for survival.

It was about a fifteen minute walk to where the remains of Sector Seven lay, and the downtrodden archway that she found herself stepping carefully over only confirmed their arrival, even if most of it looked just the same as all the rest. She stopped just inside the area, eyeing the region that had been demolished not only once, but twice. Large piles of rubble lay strewn on the ground, some as short as her, others metres tall, stretching for the sky in one final amassed act of defiance. She stopped, eyeing the area with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew this place; she'd been here before, not too long after Meteor had totaled everything, to help the others clean up…

And even the Turks had been there, Reno in the lead, _searching_…

Yuffie's eyes widened in the realisation that it hadn't just _seemed_ that he had been looking for something after all, but that he had… She had been right, even back then, though it had seemed so out of place at the time. But now… She scouted the area, seeing nothing, and began to worm her way around the heap of scrap metal and charred, indistinguishable objects. The sound of footsteps behind her told her that her aides were following, though hanging back a little in what she knew to be confusion and reluctance. Eventually, after about forty minutes of navigating the tiny, dusty tracks in between, she stopped.

"There's no one here," Staniv informed her, seeing her hesitation, his gaze a little too insightful, not to mention slightly disproving. "Are you sure who you were looking for is here?"

Yuffie frowned. Of all the places in Midgar that Reno could go, and from everything that Rude and Elena had told her, all her instincts pointed to here. So why wasn't he? Had they somehow passed each other on their separate ways? It wasn't like it was easy to miss someone that stood out as much as him. "I don't know," she said after a second, turning to face the area they'd searched as best they could. "I thought I was right, but…"

"Perhaps you missed whoever it was," Shake offered impatiently, glancing at his watch. "In any which case, this is not the ideal place for a person of _your_ standing to frequent, so shall we?"

Yuffie cast a last look back at the scattered rubble before nodding hesitantly. At the agreement, her aides turned and began to leave, not waiting for any other protest. Even so, they were a good ten-or-more metres in front of her before she actually moved a foot in departure. Something was holding her back – something stupid. She sighed, and finally began to move, not sure why she was annoyed at having walked all that distance for nothing.

"What _are_ you doing out of bed?" a voice drawled suddenly from behind her.

Yuffie froze at the voice and turned around instantly. Oh, there was no doubt about who it was all right, despite the slightly reproachful tone. But when she looked back, there was no one there. She frowned, shook her head, and was about to chalk it up to lack of sleep when it came again.

"Up here, brat."

Yuffie cast her eyes up… and up… and well, up. She squinted into the light, ignoring the shooting pain that it brought, finally spotting the familiar silhouette of the Turk on top of a relatively stable pile of ruins. She cocked her head to the side. Reno was lying on his back, one arm lying carelessly under his head, looking for all the world like he was as comfortable up there as he would be on a sofa in front of the television. Neglecting the snide little voice in her head that said he probably _was_ just as comfortable in such a place as the slums, she took special note of the beer bottle that hung from one of his hands, and the now-returned glasses that were over his eyes… for once. He wasn't looking at her, but instead up at the sky.

"What are you doing up there?" she asked, ignoring his initial question.

"What are you doing… _here_?" Reno returned with just as much curiosity. She watched as he rolled onto his side, looked down at her through his glasses. Something yellow-tinged glinted on the exposed 'v' of his neck, and she noted with belated realisation that it was the key that Rude and Elena had told her about. Why had she expected it to be bigger, more threatening… ?

"I'm going back to Wutai," she replied. "We couldn't go directly to home from Junon because it's a Sunday, and-"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Reno sat up completely this time, taking a moment to wedge the beer bottle in between some rubble so it wouldn't fall. He looked down at her, crimson eyebrows drawn together in a frown. "Why are you _here_?"

She had no answer for that. She shrugged, knowing that it wouldn't do. Instead she eyed his beer, wondering if there had been others before that. "Are you drunk?"

Reno laughed, the corner of his mouth tugging upward in his familiar lopsided smirk. "Regretfully, not much." He paused, tipping his head to the side. "They told you, didn't they? How else would you have known to come here?"

Yuffie shook her head. "Told me what?" she retorted. "They told me you'd gone to Midgar, and that was it. I saw the helicopter – they told me that, too – and knew you wouldn't be far." She raised a hand to cover her eyes, putting the other behind her back and crossing her fingers against the lie. "You were here… just after Meteor happened. It's why you helped us clean everything up, wasn't it? You were looking…"

"For _what_, Yuff? Gold?"

"No. Ashley." Why was she being so bold? What did it matter to her about this? It had nothing to do with her… So why couldn't she shut the hell up? "You never did tell Cloud why you were helping us clean it up, to look for survivors, did you, Turk?"

But it was Reno's turn to not answer, and Yuffie knew then that she was right. She watched as he pulled a cigarette from a battered packet and lit it up with not a lighter, but a small orb of materia – the one from the crash site, she recognised.

"Ashley's not coming back, Yuff. He's been dead a long time. I thought I told you that, or perhaps that knock on the head did more than I thought to screw up your memory…"

"Dead, perhaps. But not to you. That key I saw you take off Donovan… What you said about him being taken away by him... You had the chance to save him, didn't you?"

_… Goddamnit, girl! Learn to keep your own mouth shut…_

Reno showed no outward reaction except to visibly scowl, though even from where she stood she could see the tenseness in his lean frame. He took a long drag on the glowing cigarette before letting it out between barely parted lips. "You want to dye your hair blonde and call yourself Elena, while you're at it?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but found none forthcoming, and Reno shrugged.

"Guess not." Reno took that opportunity to take up the offensive, grabbing his beer before jumping off the side of the pile. He landed beside her, perfectly composed, only his wild red hair wavering in the slight breeze. Not even the beer spilled.

"Let me tell you something that you're going to have to take to heart, Yuff," he said after a moment, and Yuffie found herself watching his back as he walked past her and leaned against a large metal frame protruding from the ground. "I'm a Turk. You've known that for years now. I'm not someone you want to hang around with. In case that lovely little stroll in the forest didn't refresh your memory as to the fact that I'm not safe to be around, the fact that I nearly killed you in that hotel room should, among other things."

She frowned. This wasn't where she'd intended for the conversation to go. It was getting bitter, Reno's tone amused but icy cool. "I'm not saying-"

"Then what _are_ you saying?" Reno quipped back, shooting a glance back at her that she didn't like. "I'm sure you're well aware of who you are; of _what_ you are, and of what you mean to Wutai, not to mention your father. You _can't_ afford to hang around someone like me." There was a snort. "Tell me, what did Avalanche say when they found out you had my help last time, in Wutai?"

Yuffie felt a scowl of her own flit across her face. Perhaps this was the reaction she should have expected. But what if she had just left it… _could_ she have just left it? She doubted it; she was sure her line had a genetic flaw somewhere that stated an unnatural knack for annoying inquisitiveness was a _good_ thing. She ploughed on. "They don't know, but… they'll find out this time."

"Of course they will – Reeve is more directly involved this time. He'll tell them."

Yuffie shrugged, not so sure of that; it would likely be left up to her. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I'll find some way to tell them, or find some way to explain it. Who cares right now… it has nothing to do with them anyway." She paused. "But I see you're grateful for the help then, as usual, Turk."

"Help?"

"In case _you_ didn't notice, I dragged your sorry ass through the forest when you couldn't walk. I should have expected as much from you, though. I should have just left you in the alley, or in the forest, or in the hotel..."

"I'm a Turk," was the consistent reply. "As I seem to keep having to tell you. I've suffered much worse. You know what I've done, and yet you're still here. You _shouldn't_ be. Sometimes it's best to leave things the hell alone – you don't want to get caught up with me."

_… There are some things that are best left buried…_

"Yeah, well it's not my fault that you ended up-"

"Yuffie!"

Yuffie spun around, and was suddenly faced with her aides. Her eyes widened slightly and she winced as she realised she'd forgotten about them for the moment. The taller of the two, Staniv, was looking at her calmly, as if he already knew what she'd been doing. Shake, however, more hotheaded and impulsive, was looking up at Reno with some measure of annoyance.

"I see you've finally found your place, Turk."

Yuffie felt her wince dissolve into a full-fledged grimace. She was saved from having to reply when both Staniv and Reno came up with one instead. At the same time, as Staniv lifted his arm in a halting gesture, Reno flicked his glasses up onto the top of his head and peered derisively down at the shorter aid.

"Can it, shortass," the Turk said bluntly.

Okay, so Reno's apparently hostile mood wasn't helping. She turned to her aides, looking at them both in turn. "Well… I found him," she said with a fleeting smile. "But…I would like to talk to him by myself."

"Miss Yuffie-" Shake began, but she merely shook her head.

"Shake, let me talk to him. I promise, he's not going to kill me or anything stupid. I won't let him. _Please_," she added again, glancing at the more controlled of her guardians meaningfully…

That word always had been their downfall.

"Very well," Staniv said, his own ebony eyes flicking with a gaze of his own to Reno's. "We'll be waiting a short distance away."

"Thanks," she whispered, and they left. She ignored the distinctive sound of Shake's annoyed muttering, and the shuffling of their feet, and turned to Reno, who was eyeing her with an unreadable expression.

"What?" she asked after a moment. "What is it?"

Reno shrugged, nonchalant. "Nothing," he said after a second. "You were the one that came here, remember?"

She sighed. This conversation was just leading them around in circles, and it seemed that there was no point. With a huff of annoyance she found a reasonably clear patch and sat down, wrapping her arms around her knees with a groan. "Unfortunately, yes."

Nearly there…

"… Unfortunately, huh?"

There was a soft rustle of cloth to her right. Yuffie glanced out of the corner of her eye, watching as Reno sat down beside her in a similar position to her own, beer bottle draped casually out of one of his hands. She shrugged. "Well, this conversation certainly isn't going anywhere."

There was a snort. "Had you even intended for it to go anywhere?"

She rolled her eyes. "… Would you believe me if I told you I had no clue? I already told you I didn't know you were here until I saw your helicopter."

Another snort, followed by a short laugh. "Probably. But that would probably explain why it _isn't_ going anywhere."

"Your sarcasm is duly noted, _ass_." She paused for a second, shooting her gaze upward as a skycab shot over the desolate scene. She frowned, knowing Reno had a point. If all she had were questions that weren't going to be answered, questions that she wasn't going to need the answers for anything… then what was the point in trying? Reno was a stubborn idiot, and not one to divulge in the finer points of his life with a one-time enemy. But then again, she knew the story now, anyway. She knew why Reno had reacted so badly to the tiny cut on her cheek, why he'd tried to hide his relief when it had healed fine, not to mention how irritable he'd been on their little 'trip'. She even knew why he'd come here, and had managed to cover up that fact reasonably well, even if he didn't quite believe her.

"…I hear thinking is bad for you, these days."

Yuffie craned her neck and looked around at Reno with a blunt stare, not realising she'd been so caught up in her thoughts that she'd fallen completely silent. "Well that sure explains a lot," she threw back, picking up the offered ammunition easily. "You're sure going to have fun writing those reports, huh?"

Reno cursed and took a long sip of his beer. "Did you really have to mention that, brat?" he scowled. "I _knew_ there had to be a catch to that damn vacation…"

Yuffie caught the last part as he muttered it under his breath in exaggerated annoyance. She shook her head slightly, realising that this topic was another sore point with the Turk. She shrugged, deciding it was time for a change in topic. "Soo…" she let her voice trail off until she was sure that Reno was looking at her. "How about that gorgeous Midgar weather?"

Reno raised his eyebrows at the sudden topic change, the smirk widening into a slight grin. "So you finally got the point, did you? No more pointless, Elena-style questions?"

She lifted a hand in surrender, leaning back a little on the other so he'd get the point. "Okay, okay," she said after a second, knowing that now it didn't matter what questions she asked him, she already had the answers. But that didn't matter anymore, anyway; she knew enough – perhaps more than she wanted… Already her own mind was challenging how she perceived him, how she wanted to _keep_ perceiving him, the illusion of who he was was already shattering. "I promise I won't ask you anymore questions," she added finally.

One red eyebrow lifted higher. "You won't, huh?" Reno leaned around, looking at something behind her dubiously. "You're not just crossing your fingers again?"

Yuffie felt a blush run across her cheeks as she discovered he'd known she'd done that the last time. She shook her head, waiting for the reprimand, but none came. Hiding her mild surprise, she shrugged and lifted the other hand from supporting behind her back, bringing it into plain view. "No tricks," she said, wiggling her fingers arcanely with a growing smile. "You can keep the rest of your spooky and mysterious past to yourself."

The line had the desired effect. Yuffie watched as Reno pulled out another smoke, lit it up, then looked at her with a growing expression of amusement. She resisted the urge to grin back in relief as the tension that had been building up snapped completely this time.

"I'm glad I have your permission," he drawled finally, taking a long drag on the smoke, mask back in place.

They sat in silence for a while, until Reno finished the cigarette, finally crushing the stub out on the ground beside him. Yuffie leaned back on her hands again, looking around the confused rubble, trying to discern the big from the small. Something that looked like a mangled car protruded from a pile of scrappy iron sheets, and a shattered concrete lamppost laying a few feet of in front of her. And everything was grey. How had they even managed to find anything in there, let alone a few living people…?

"Yuff?"

… How could anyone survive being crushed by all _that_? How could Ashley have --

"Oi, brat!"

She snapped her head up. "Mm?"

"When does your cab leave?"

She looked at her watch. "Four. I have an hour."

"What a fun ride," Reno commented, not saying anything about how passive she was being. "I'd have thought that last episode with the dragon would have put you off travelling on the things."

"You're not on the same cab, so I'll be fine," she returned distractedly, with a negligent wave of her hand.

Reno snorted. "And you say I'm charming."

"I'm only hinting that you drag trouble around with you."

"Coming from you…"

Yuffie painted an indignant expression onto her face as an all-too convenient memory popped back into her head. "Not true. Apparently, I just _follow_ trouble, not attract it."

Reno smirked. "Bitter, Yuff?"

"A tagalong, am I?" she asked coyly, ignoring his question.

He looked away from her, hiding the grin. She saw it anyway, it was that wide. He took a sip of the beer to cover it, and she resisted the urge to pick it up and throw it away.

"Somewhat," he replied eventually. "You did follow, and you weren't a part of the original mission."

When he put it like that it almost sounded like it made sense… but not nearly enough. Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Ass," she said again. "You're such an ingrate."

"Yeah, well. Comes with the territory and the job description."

She shook her head in disbelief at the easy dismissal, and was about to comment on it when raised voices in the distance caught her eye. She twisted around as far as she could, looking back at the aides in the distance. From what she could tell, Shake was getting angry (as usual when it came to matters regarding Shinra), and Staniv was trying to buffer the argument with cool words and calm gestures. She shook her head. Perhaps she should leave…

"Oh, great. Your little bodyguards are having their first domestic."

Yuffie smirked and glanced back at Reno. She got to her feet with a brief roll of her eyes and more than a little hesitancy, then shrugged. "I'd better go separate them."

Reno seemed to pause for a second, his eyes shooting toward the two Wutaian men and then back to Yuffie. But it was only a second. He got to his feet a little slower, and she noted with some relief that he'd left the beer bottle on the ground.

"Good luck," he remarked. "The midget looks like he's ready to tear Staniv's hair out."

"Oh, goody," she replied, suddenly not so sure if she wanted to go ahead and separate them. She knew what they were arguing about, and if they went over there they'd suggest she leave. She glanced down at her watch again, noting only five minutes had passed. Great, so they still had just under an hour. But she knew what she had to do.

With some annoyance she ignored the bizarre, idiotic compulsion to stay and let them fight it out; to stay and talk to Reno. But Shake was getting mad, and… well. She couldn't hang around here forever. She didn't even know the reason why she'd come here, so why should she feel the need to stay? Reno had been right, after all, she couldn't afford hang around in a place like this. Though it wasn't like she particularly cared, either. She'd never been fond of orders shaped as suggestions, and she always did as she pleased…

"Well?"

Oh, great. She'd been staring off into space again. She glanced up at Reno. "Want me to go that badly?"

"I didn't say that. I'm just implying that it's going to take a while to split that little scrap up. And, if you don't go quickly, I think ol' Shake there is going to make Staniv do something with that pillow he'll regret."

Yuffie followed Reno's gaze to the two men a short distance away. From where she stood she could see Shake gesturing madly, occasionally turning enough to glare at Reno. Staniv was still trying to calm the shorter man, but it wasn't working quite as well anymore – Shake was irate.

"Oh crap," she groaned. "You're right. This is going to take me a while. Shake has this way of getting really worked up about things that annoy him…"

"I noticed," Reno muttered dryly.

Yuffie blinked. Of course he knew that, she realised. He had, after all, been locked into a fourth-floor room simply because Shake had disapproved of Yuffie even talking to him. She rolled her eyes. "I'd better go."

"So you should."

But for some reason she didn't move. "If I don't stop them now we'll miss the cab," she observed with a slight frown.

"Well I have Reeve's helicopter… we all know how you love them."

"Ugh," she groaned, taking a slow step toward her aides, then another. She shook her head at the thought. "Nuh-uh. You'll never get me willingly on anything that isn't in some way connected to the ground _anymore_."

There was a short laugh behind her. "As opposed to two thin cables hanging you a couple dozen metres off the ground or over the sea… I seem to remember they hit the ground pretty hard when encouraged, if I'm not mistaken…"

"_Ass_!" she said, at Reno's way too amused tone. "As if I don't have enough reasons to regret travelling with motion sickness, without wondering whether it's going to fall from the sky… _again_!"

"Just pointing out the pocket positives, Yuff."

She turned around then, and placed a hand on her hip. "You know, you like annoying people way too much than's good for a person."

"I don't do a lot that's good for me," Reno countered. She watched as he very deliberately pulled out another smoke and lit it up.

Yuffie shook her head slowly, exasperated. "You're an idiot."

Reno shrugged, mumbled something around the smoke in his mouth, then lifted an arm and pointed nonchalantly at the two men behind her. Yuffie twisted around slightly to glance over her shoulder, wary of the glittering amusement present in Reno's eyes. She could soon see why. She sighed, tugging on a lock of hair, watching as Staniv attempted to prevent Shake from stalking angrily towards them by grabbing a bunch of material behind his neck. The sight was really quite comic despite the situation, with Shake struggling to get free, and she had to purse her lips in order to hide the grin.

"All right," she mouthed as Staniv sent her an irksome look. She turned back to Reno again, and cocked her head to the side. "Well then…" she began, not really sure of what to say. What _did_ you say to someone you'd been running around in the wopwops with for three days, in desperation, trying to get away from a madman? How many times had they saved each others' asses since then? She did a quick tally, then lost count. "Guess I'll see you… when… "

"When I see you," Reno finished for her simply, smirking slightly.

She nodded, and backed away a little. P_robably next time one of us gets into trouble, gets shot, needs to be carted around, or gets held for ransom…_ But she didn't say that. She nodded. "See you around," she said, and turned away. She'd moved about five steps when it occurred to her how she could complete the otherwise strangely inadequate goodbye. She bit back a grin – this would make it more complete… for her at least.

"Oh, Turk?"

"Yeah?"

She transferred her weight to one leg, lifting a finger in the air. "_One_ more thing."

"… What?" The tone was wary, Reno's eyes slightly narrowed.

In a flash of movement that she knew her head was going to kick her for when it caught up, she darted forward and plucked the smoldering cigarette from between Reno's fingers before he could stop her. In one fluid action she lowered her arm and dropped the smoke, squishing it under her boot before, with a flourish, nudging over the half-empty beer bottle. As the bubbly amber liquid began to spill across the dusty ground she stepped quickly away, flashing a brief wink and a wide grin.

"You really should give up your bad habits," was all she offered in explanation as she walked quickly away, leaving Reno behind her and catching up to her two guardians. She didn't hear Reno's reply, though he almost undoubtedly gave one, and picked her way through the rubble with Staniv and the coarsely muttering Shake hot on her heels. She didn't even allow herself the satisfaction of catching Reno's expression before she rounded the corner and was out of site. Perhaps that would get him mad enough to stop his lonesome brooding.

By the time she'd reached the skycab station, twenty minutes later, the grin was still plastered on her face.

_My work here is done…_she thought with glee, chuckling quietly to herself. But oh man was he going to kill her…

* * *

"Brat."

Reno looked down at his spilt beer and crushed cigarette with a vaguely annoyed expression, before that faded into a smirk. "Complete and utter brat." He stepped forward and covered the ruined smoke with his booted foot, rubbing it further into the ground. He'd _wanted_ that smoke.

And the beer, too, damn it.

Turning away from where the bottle was lying he glanced in the direction that Yuffie had disappeared, back toward civilization. He shook his head, eyeing the destroyed area, shoving thoughts of the search that those of Avalanche and his Turks had conducted just after Meteor. His hand came up to grip the chain that hung around his neck, and he squared his jaw before pulling it free with a firm tug.

The twice-broken links came free easily, and he was left staring down at it as it hung in his gloved hand before him, the tiny key draping languidly between his fingers. He scowled, held it up to the dull, white light for a moment, watching as it twirled and swayed in the light breeze, and then… he let it go. It wasn't anything dramatic, or even something that required a lot of effort or emotion. He didn't throw it, or even kiss it goodbye. One moment he was holding it, and the next he wasn't; it was as simple as that.

Reno watched the thin golden chain fall into a pile of loose rubble, flicked his sunglasses down over his eyes. The key and its counterpart landed with a dull, empty jingle, slipping quickly out of sight and easily falling in between the various scraps of metal without complaint, as if it had never been in the first place. Reno felt his eyes linger for a moment longer in the place it had disappeared…

Then he walked away.

Perhaps Yuffie had been right, after all, though not in the way she'd intended. Some things were better left alone, once over and done with best put away, once closed best not reopened. He felt around in his pocket for the packet of cigarettes, only to find that the it was empty… Yuffie had destroyed his last smoke. He pulled the packet out, looked curiously at it for a second, then chucked that away too.

After all, if he was giving up one bad habit, then perhaps another at the same time couldn't be so bad.

* * *

_A FEW DAYS LATER…_

"For the last time, Reno, you are _going_ to go through this evidence, whether you want to or not!"

Reno looked up at Reeve, then past the glaring man to yet another guard carrying a blue canvas duffel bag into the room.

"_All_ of it?" he asked, his hands pulling away from behind his head to rest on the desk in front of him, his long legs sliding off the desk at the same time as he leaned forward. "_Why_? None of it has any relevance to the case, it's just some stuff that Yuffie stole from-"

"From Trent. Yes, I know," Reeve replied, rubbing a hand over his face. "But it has to go under record, because it turned up at the end with _you_. Things have to be done _right_, Reno. I'll have no arguments. If you don't do this… your week's vacation is forfeit. End of discussion!"

_Well what do you know,_ Reno thought, as he watched Reeve stalk back into his own office. _Reeve is finally starting to show some backbone._ But even as that occurred to him, his eyes washed over the various bags that had been dumped inside his office, then the stack of papers in front of him. He groaned and got up, dragging a bag from the pile back to his desk.

_A week's holiday_… he forced himself to think. _That's the only fucking reason I'm doing deskwork…_

He'd been in his office, cataloguing the various items and their distinct _lack_ of relevance on paper for nearly an hour when his door opened. Again. He looked up as Elena walked in, placed yet another mug of coffee on his desk, before offering a slight, not-so comforting grin. Then she left, the door closing with a soft click behind her.

"She is enjoying this way too much," he muttered, taking a sip of the coffee. The warm, energy-sustaining liquid renewed him a little, and he pulled another object out of the bag, and was about to fill in the sheet on his desk when something familiar about the item struck him. Dumping the pen he'd been holding with one hand, Reno focused all his attention on the object. What, apart from the fact that his broken locator had been concealed inside, was so special about this disgusting green bumbag?

Reno frowned, scratched his head, then placed the bag on the desk. When simply staring at it failed to produce any results, he reached out his hand again and ran it over the ugly calico surface. A sudden wave of memory flooded over him, and Reno snapped open eyes he hadn't realised he'd closed. His hand slipped from the top of it onto the side, and he gripped the makeshift handles, the reason why it was so familiar suddenly occurring to him.

Reno stood from his desk and dragged the item with him, using his arm to swing the bag through the air a few times in a test. Feeling the reassuring weight of the item only confirmed it. Yep, that was it, all right. He sat back down, raising an eyebrow at what he'd just recognised to be the object Yuffie had thrown him when Donovan had had him pinned toward the end of the fight. A small grin made the corner of his mouth twitch. So _this_ was the item that had turned the tables…

Before he knew what he was doing, Reno had unzipped the top of the bag, remembering that Reeve had placed the locator inside. As he flipped open the top flap Reno felt his eyes widen. The interior of the bumbag was nothing but a mess of shattered plastic, wires, and other random objects. "Well I guess I just found out why the fucking locator stopped working…" He rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly, sitting back in his high-backed chair at the realisation. Not a glitch at all, but solid impact with Donovan's rock-hard head. Amused, he scribbled the 'usage' of the object down on the paper beside it, and then proceeded to close the bag.

Well, _began_ to proceed to close it, at least…

Reno stopped halfway, reaching into the bag and pulling out a small shard of wood. He frowned, rotating it in his grip. The outside surface, where there still _was_ an outside surface, was smooth and coated in a dark kind of varnish, the apparent inside edges equally so. Where it hadn't splintered, held in the light, he could tell it was made of an expensive wood, and had been well worked. But what was a decorative sliver of wood doing in his bumbag? The locator's exterior, shattered though it was, was made solely of black pvc…

Not wood.

Reno leaned in closer to the bag, rifling through the interior with his pen. Several other, bigger pieces of lumber turned up, some nearly as big as his fist. Puzzled, he pulled them out too, separating them from the shattered segments of the locator. Still having no idea, he continued his search and his analysis. It wasn't until a small, wooden wind-up peg jumped out at him, followed quickly by a cylindrical, textured metal tube, that he remembered what it was: the minute music box that that kid had stolen off Yuffie in the alley. When they'd been running across the rooftops he'd snatched it up from his previously concealed position, put it in his bag, and forgotten about it…

And when they'd been fighting Donovan, it had been the sheer weight and density that had helped to knock Donovan onto his back, and help _him_ get back onto his feet.

Reno shook his head and placed the splinters of wood back into the bag, and sealed it up. Instead of just dumping it in the pile with the other previously-examined gear, though, he put it on the desk in front of him, and continued with his work. Well, more like he tried to…

Or not.

For about the thousandth time Reno found himself looking across the desk at the bag and it's destroyed contents. He scowled, shook his head as if to clear it, then picked up another item, only to put it back down seconds later as fragments of an idea began to form in his mind.

Without any further thought in discouragement Reno got to his feet, gathered the various papers he had on his desk, and dumped them into his previously paper-free rubbish bin. When that didn't prove satisfactory enough, he reached into his pocket and secured his gloved hand around the tiny, low-level fire materia that he'd kept with him since Donovan's death – one that Reeve and Elena had missed in their search. Placing the bucket away from anything it could catch on in the middle of the room, he focused on the small tin and the papers within.

The bone-dry leaflets caught straight away, not offering any protest toward being burnt to a crisp. A wide smirk flickered across his face as he watched the compact orange blaze for a moment, before opening the outside window, snatching up the bum bag, and striding casually out of the room.

Fuck Reeve and his reports, he'd just found something better to spend his time and effort on.

* * *

"Well this is certainly… interesting…"

Yuffie twisted around, arranging her body awkwardly until she finally managed to get into a position that was comfortable. Again. She gave up halfway, since that ambition was impossible for such a place (of course) and instead shuffled backward, bracing her back against the trunk of the tree and pulling her knees up to her chest, balancing herself carefully on the branch lest she should fall. She sighed, looking out over the various treetops and steepled rooftops, tipping her head backward against the rough bark.

It had been eight days since she'd returned home, found her father wasn't so mad after all, and been told to go to bed before she fell over. Now, nearly a week after coming back she was sick of sleeping and sick of doing nothing, despite her aides' insistence she not do otherwise. She almost found herself wishing for company, but had long since quelled that urge. Meeting with Tifa and the others would bring questions, and that was something she wasn't going to put up with just yet. They knew she was fine, couldn't they just leave it at that? She tipped her head to the side, and those thoughts of company of course led her to wondering what the Turks were doi—

Wait. That just wouldn't do.

Yuffie huffed and resettled herself, dangling a leg from the branch and swinging it quickly in distraction. She'd climbed the tree two hours ago, simply because there had been nothing better to do. It was strange, really. She'd simply woken up that morning, gotten herself ready for the day ahead, gone outside and… decided that this particular tree had looked particularly appealing. Apparently, she hadn't quite had enough of dense forest yet, or perhaps it was the fact that this time she wasn't oppressed by the woodland, but above it…

She cast her eyes out over the extensive canopy of trees, looking out at the looming figure of Da Chao in the distance. Her hazel eyes slipped closed, and images of the time her and Elena had been strung up flashed back to her momentarily. A small grin formed on her face as she thought of the Turks, of the strange hug and the pillow she'd received from Elena when leaving, and the brief, appraising handshake she'd shared with Rude… And the conversation she'd had with Reno.

Yuffie tugged at her lip thoughtfully, then pushed the reflection away. She couldn't just keep looking into it; Reno had told her that much. So she sat there for a while longer, letting the warm sun wash over her body, waiting for something to happen just so she could have something to do, not to mention something else to think about.

She didn't have to wait long.

The sound of feet snapping twigs and crunching leaves caused her to open her eyes and look down. She glanced at Staniv, who was looking up at her with a faintly amused expression.

"Nice view?"

Yuffie smiled. "Yep. Does father need me for something?"

The aide shook his head, but pulled out a small, wrapped-up box from the inside of a large pocket on the side of his robes. "No. But this arrived for you just before."

Yuffie blinked. "A parcel?"

"Yes."

She blinked again. She hadn't been expecting anything, let alone a parcel. Her birthday wasn't for another half year!

"For me."

"Yes."

"And it arrived just before."

"Do you want it or not?" Staniv asked, the corner of his mouth twitching.

He didn't have to ask her twice. Yuffie got to her feet and clambered down the tree quickly, her descent leading her around and around the trunk before she reached the lowest branch. She leapt off it quickly and landed gracefully next to Staniv, who held out the box.

"Does it say who it's from?" she asked, taking it and turning it over in her grip.

"No. But Reeve's official stamp is on the back, so it's from his offices."

"Oh." She frowned, and they made their way inside. Aware of Staniv's eyes watching her in a sidelong glance, she continued to examine the rectangular object, feeling it for weight, bumps, and finally shaking it a little.

"Are you actually going to open it?"

Yuffie raised an eyebrow and poked out her tongue. "You jus' want to see what it is," she replied, hiding it behind her back with a grin.

"Of course I do," her aide countered.

"Well tough," she said, as they drew into the main chambers. She winked, and then hurried off in the direction of her room. "I'll tell you once _I_ know."

"Yes, Yuffie." Staniv's slightly resigned voice echoed.

Yuffie made her way up the various steps to her room. When she finally reached it she flung open her door, closed it again, and settled comfortably down on the futon beside the window, tucking her legs under her. She placed the small, wrapped box down in front of her for a moment, staring at it with curiosity. Why would Reeve send her anything? She'd received her bag and everything in it back the day after she'd arrived home, so why this?

Unable to keep her hands off it any longer, she picked it up again and began to unwrap the string and layers of brown paper and bubble wrap around it with care. When the last of the tape on the wrapping paper came free, she saw what it was. "Oh… " she whispered, not quite sure what to think, glancing down at the small music box that she'd planned to give Tifa for her birthday. She'd completely forgotten about it now that she'd received her bag back, but now… "So that's what it was."

But it wasn't.

Even as she examined the outside, ran her fingers lightly over the smooth, varnished surface, it became quickly apparent that this was not the same one. She frowned slightly, and bit her lip. The wood was slightly darker, the cut a little smaller, and the patterns that had been carved into the top were a of a more foreign variation to the Wutaian decoration that had been there before – what was previously a simple silver-inlaid leaf design, was now something entirely different – though no less expert. She blinked. Why would Reeve send her a music box… a different one? Come to think of it, what had happened to the other?

She'd just placed the box down in front of her, ready to open it up when the breeze picked up from the open window. There was the sound of rustling paper, and she glanced across at the wrapping which had begun to skitter across the floor. Her hand snapped out quickly to stop it, and she lifted it back to tuck under her foot. That was when she noticed the folded sheet of paper inside. Hoping it was a note that would explain what was going on, she retrieved it and unfolded it, and began to read.

_            "Brat,_

_You know what it was you threw me when Donovan and I were fighting? It was this. Well, this inside my bumbag, actually – I took it from that kid and had it with me for some stupid reason when we were escaping from the alley. It was smashed to pieces when I found it, like my fucking locator. Couldn't quite find the same stuff it was made out of, but then again, I'm not in Wutai, am I? It was way too mangled to see what the pattern was when I recovered it, but this one's probably better anyway… "_

Yuffie glanced down at the small note, some of her confusion cleared. She stopped toward the end of the letter, staring with astonishment at the tiny box and the silver-inlain outline of the dragon on the lid in slowly-dawning comprehension. She shook her head slowly in disbelief. Even without reading to the end she knew who'd written this; she'd seen his handwriting a couple of times before, when he'd been in Wutai a few months ago… and who else called her 'brat'?. But… it just wasn't making sense. She turned back to the letter, her eyes soaking up the last few lines.

_"Oh, and by the way, you know that crap about reading the card first and opening the present later? Yeah, well, it's all a load of shit! Open the damn box!_

_Reno__."___

Okay… so no further explanation there, just a misplaced order. She placed the letter aside and lifted the lid of the box, half-expecting some rancid contraption to jump out and smack her over the head. But nothing happened, not really. Yuffie wriggled around, lying down on her futon, pulling her knees out from under her and kicking them up in the air, her head resting on her hand. Her other hand snaked out when she was done to run over the equally masterful interior, to the black crushed velvet that seamlessly lined the compartment in the bottom, then finally to a second folded sheet of paper that was contained inside.

Yuffie blinked. Again. She pulled the piece of paper out, opened it, and found her eyes widening further as they skimmed over the details. When she reached the bottom of the token, Reno's print stood out yet again. Her jaw dropped, and she read over the item several more times, unable to believe what she was seeing.

_"Pick your jaw up off the floor, it's about time you learned how to drive… and I'll see you around."_

Yuffie sat there for a while. She found herself looking between the objects one by one with a mixture of puzzlement, amusement, amazement, not to mention many other emotions she couldn't name. Reno hadn't given her a reason for sending this; hadn't said anything of use, except to say that she needed to learn to drive. She conceded to that point, although why _he'd_ be the one to give a damn was beyond her. It seemed bizarre, though then again, Reno wasn't the most straight-forward person in the world, and he had a twisted sense of humor… But was… this…?

She looked down at the token for the 'five free driving lessons' again, and finally allowed herself to soak up the details on the printed invoice – the date, the times. And the place. She pursed her lips, a tiny smile creeping onto her face and refusing to go away. May twenty-second – a week from now. Two-thirty pm…

Location: Midgar.

Without thinking Yuffie reached out and twisted the small peg on the inside edge of the music box, winding it up. As she let go the notes rose up into the air, perfectly tuned, and perfectly timed – but completely different, and all-too familiar. So even the tune had changed. She shook her head in wonderment, thinking back to the last time Reno had been in Wutai, when he'd heard that same music through the window and thrown her a brief note. Lifting the playing box up she took it over to the large dresser, where one of a similar style lay. She waited for a moment, for the already playing music to stop. When it did, she twisted both dials at the same time as evenly as she could, before letting go.

It worked.

The melody from both boxes lifted into the crisp morning air, and she stared at them for a moment, not quite sure of what to think. One of them… the oldest, had been her mother's; had been passed down and owned by the females of the line for generations. And the second… had been a gift for Tifa, but had somehow been crafted and twisted around and manipulated to become something more suited for… well, _her_. She walked back over to her bed and closed her eyes, sure of one thing – she would have to find Tifa another present… she was keeping this one.

_See you around…_

She grinned, knowing it was stupid, but not particularly caring. It didn't matter what would come of it, or what happened while she was there. She couldn't even tell, really, why the prospect of going back thrilled her so much when there was only an arrogant Turk and his friends there to greet her, let alone Tifa, who would ask too many questions. She couldn't tell, again, why it felt like the inside of her chest was going to burst, or why her face was reddening, a crimson blush spreading over her cheeks. But that didn't matter right now, anyway, and she couldn't bring herself to care. In just over a week, it seemed, she was going back to Midgar.

**_FIN… Because with every ending, there is always a new beginning…_**

* * *

**_Author's notes:_**

_Well there it is, the last chapter of Smoke and Shattered Mirrors. I feel kind of sad ending this, as it has been a story I have immensely enjoyed writing, but I have always had the idea of a sequel looming in my head, so I needn't worry. Doubtless, I will write one, and I already have a few ideas up my sleeve, but it might take a while to hammer them out into something remotely resembling a plot. I also have a few ideas in regards to a semi-sequel for Drunken Missions, but we'll see how that goes.. I hope all you out there who were egging for some Reffie-ness aren't about to jump out of your seats and kill me for leaving it here, so open-ended, but it was intended. I always had meant for this story to end here, to leave it open to your interpretation, with also plenty of room for a sequel to be made – which it will. As always, feel free to tell me what you think – I thrive off reviews! _

_Riyue__: Yes, and the final chapter… I hope you liked it!_

_Eternal Wanderer: Again, thank you for you email, and your reviews! Thanks for the comments on Rude and Elena's characterization – you're right about Reeve, he doesn't really have enough presence to be built upon… yet. I'm also glad you approve of my backstory, I was sincerely wondering how it was going to be received, even though I'd more than hinted at some of it. Classical? __Reno__ and Yuffie?__ Lol. No, I don't think they are, really… more likely to do things their own way, and that's another reason why I ended the story here. Now do you see what I meant in my email back? Tell me what you think, huh? _

_Alixen__: I'm glad you approve, what about this one? _

_Angel Yuffie: How about 3 chapters in 3 days? Thank you for the comments on Rude, Reeve  and Elena's characterizations, it is much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! _

_Tijuana__ Pirate: Wow, another great review! You spoil me so much with your comments! Yes, that last chapter was longer – but this final one was even longer again – did you notice? I wonder what you think of the ending, since you are a die-hard Reffie fan? I hope you're not too disappointed, or ready to kill me, huh? Lol… If so, the next story might be a long time in coming… I'm glad you also liked the completion of Reno's background – I thought I had better finally answer all those questions, not to mention give the readers more food for thought about why he is what he is (not to mention more ammo for future stories)…And you are more than welcome for the quick updates! I've left you guys hanging in the past with both Word of Mouth and Smoke and Shattered Mirrors, so I'm only too happy to get these last chapters out faster. As always, tell me what you think, I always look forward to your reviews! I hope you enjoyed the story, and this last chapter, though it may have been a little disappointing to your Reffie side… but as I said… endings are sometimes nothing more than a new beginning… ._

_Sors__: Thank you for reading, and especially for reviewing! It's always good to have another reader! Hope you enjoyed it!_

_Well then, since I can't really say, 'see you next update', I guess I'll have to settle for 'see you next story', huh? I hope you all enjoyed it, (and, again, aren't ready to kill me for the ending, as I'm kind of concerned as to how that will be received)! Thanks to all those who have bothered to read this story, and even more to those who have reviewed and hung through the entire thing! All your comments and criticism are appreciated, and I enjoy your feedback!_

_Until next time, which I hope won't be too far away…_

_ Ealinesse! _


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